Preparing Soil for Planting

We've had some crazy weather this past week, but spring is definitely here. My tulip bulbs emerged--I'm still waiting on blooms. Our cherry tree has put out a few blooms, but it looks like the cold snap has left it mostly covered in buds. Here's hoping it will be covered in flowers for Easter.

A sure sign of spring: my tulips are emerging.

In my last post, I mentioned how the magic for growing things is in the dirt. Well, this past week I worked a little magic in preparation for all the planting I am doing this spring. One bed was already there--we just removed the existing shrubs and improved the soil.  The other was an entirely new bed, but the process was basically the same for both.  I'll take you step by step through that process.

1. Break up the soil. I'm fortunate to have a husband who is good with a shovel. The soil in most of our yard is very compacted clay, so he alternated between a shovel and a pick mattock to loosen up the soil.

After that I came behind him with a little combo hoe and cultivator mattock. The sharp hoe side breaks up the smaller chunks of clay, and the cultivator side is great for stirring and fluffing. I kept going until the whole bed was tilled to a depth of 6 inches. I probably should have gone deeper, but that was all I had the energy for. Of course, if you have better soil than me, this whole step will take a lot less work.

2. Add compost. There are many different soil amendments available, but if you have to pick one, use compost.  If your soil is too sandy, you'll have to constantly pour water and fertilizer into it just to keep your plants alive. If your soil is heavy clay (like mine), your plants can drown or your roots can rot. Compost can improve any kind of soil--it adds drainage to clay soil, retains moisture in sandy soil, and adds nutrients to boost. I only started my compost bin last fall, so my pile is still cooking. Fortunately, you can buy compost at your local garden center. You'll want to add about one part compost for every one part soil. If you already have soil that's rich in organic matter and has the right balance of moisture, you'll need much less. If you have poor soil, you might want to add more.

3. Mix it up. After adding a few inches of compost, I took the cultivator side of my little hand tool and mixed it in thoroughly. After breaking up the soil previously, this step was pretty easy.

And that's pretty much it! Now you have a nice, healthy bed ready for planting. Depending on the size of your bed and the quality of your soil, you can knock it out in a couple of hours and reap the benefits for years.