Preparing the Soil Most gardens require similar preparation before you plant; clearing unwanted weeds, digging to break up the soil, and adding compost to improve texture, moisture retention and to lift nutrient levels. The better the soil the more successful you will be. Great soils grow great vegetables.
You cannot often improve an entire vegetable garden once you begin to plant, as there are usually some crops in the ground. Before you start is the best opportunity to clear the soil, improve texture by digging and to add the compost and organic matter that feeds your plants and make them strong and healthy.
First you must remove all weeds so that your plants will get a good start in a friable soil without competition for invasive interlopers! If there are any seed heads cut these down first and remove without shaking - any fallen seeds will come back as weeds and have to be pulled. Remove the entire root of plants such as dock, couch grass (twitch), dandelion and thistle; any portion of root left behind will grow again. Any green weeds can be composted but do not compost weed seeds or those that will grow again from root fragments.
Dig the soil over thoroughly, or work with a rotary hoe to break it up and make it friable. Many experts recommend double-digging a new vegetable garden, that is, digging to 45-60cm. Depending on your soil structure this may simply mean that you are digging into gravel (on the Canterbury Plains), or bedrock! Take care that you do not mix the subsoil (usually a lighter colour) with the topsoil, but add plenty of organic matter to both.
Bulky organic matter (humus or compost) added to the soil when digging will improve the soil structure and add nutrients. Plants, especially vegetable seedlings, need to be able to push their roots through the soil and to gain the food they need. You cannot totally change your soil, but it does not hurt to know what you are working with.
After digging, leave the soil to settle. Ideally, you should dig over a new garden in autumn and leave for the winter. Frost and earthworms will work the soil further for you, and you can remove any weeds that re-sprout. Unfortunately gardeners do not often have time to work so far ahead and, with busy lives, the temptation is to get planting!, and leave the newly dug border for a few weeks.
If your soil is waterlogged or damp then you can improve the drainage by removing the topsoil, digging into the sub-sol and adding stones and gravel. Be careful though that you don't create a puddle under the garden topsoil, and in truly wet ground you must lay an effective field drain to remove excess water. Such sites are unsuitable for growing vegetables and a switch to a raised bed, lifting the garden above soggy soil, is a good move.
Organic or Not? It is possible to garden to varying degrees of chemical-free gardening. The choice is yours. More and more gardeners have moved away from using chemical products in the vegetable garden, and an aversion to chemicals used in food production is a major reason for the resurgence in the numbers of home vegetable gardeners. Most people want to eat clean, chemical free produce. It is not hard to eliminate chemicals but you will need a good supply of compost and take care to maintain and improve the soil.
Regular maintenance and weeding will also be even more important as you cannot rely on chemical to eliminate pests and to keep your plot weed-free.
Garden hygiene is important, any disease or rotting material left in the garden will harbour fungal disease and garden pests.
Get Planting Preparation done, assign your crops to a space in the garden. Keep a record from year to year as you will want to rotate them to reduce disease build-up in the soil. More permanent crops such as strawberries and asparagus need to be planted in a separate area, and rotated only when you start a new bed.
Then get out to the nursery or local garden centre and select your seedlings and seeds. It's time to get planting. Enjoy!
Good soil is key to success in vegetable gardening. You can work to improve what you have, but first understand your raw material.
A soil test kit, available at most plant nurseries, will tell you if you soil is acid or not.
Soil structure is also important in growing good crops.
There are three main types of soil - clay, loam and sandy soil. Take a handful of soil and rub a small amount between your fingers. If it crumbles and falls out of your hand you have a light sandy soil. If a small ball forms then you have loam. If the ball is tight and sticky then you have a clay soil.
There are, of course, many gradations of soil between these three categories.
Loams are the ideal, the best soil for the vegetable garden. Loams are soils with plenty of humus or organic matter, are well drained yet moisture retentive. They are friable and allow plant roots to penetrate easily. These soils support the intense cultivation in the vegetable garden with plants needing and competing for nutrients.
Light, sandy soils are often dry as water drains away too quickly, and sustain only drought-loving plants. Nutrients are frequently washed out of light soils, making them poor and unsuitable for intense cultivation. Adding of lots of compost and bulky organic material will add essential nutrients, improve moisture retention and build soil structure.
Clay soils are rich in nutrients but are cold and sodden in winter, baked hard in summer. Add lots of compost and organic matter to break up clay, improving soil structure and drainage.
Raised beds of woven willow start into growth early at West Green house, UK
Crop Yields Yields will vary with variety, soil and climate. Remember to plant some small quantities of new vegetables or heirloom varieities, just for fun.
As a rough guide when planning your planting you can expect
Carrots 5kg (11lb40z) per 3m row
Courgettes 15 per plant
Early potatoes 1.5kg (3lb60z) per plant
French beans 3kg (7lb) per 3m (10ft) row
Runner beans 1kg (2lb 4oz) per plant
Peas 3.5-4.0kg (8-10lb) per 3m (10ft) row
Spinach 3kg (7lb) per 3m (10ft) row
Strawberries 750kg (1lb8oz) per plant
Sweet corn 2 cobs per plant
Tomatoes 1.75kg (4lb) per outdoor plant
Crop Rotation How to use planting techniques to reduce disease build-up and nutirent depletion
Thomas Jefferson's impressive vegetable garden at Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
A potager with low hedged borders
Access for working is essential
Soils
