Now that you know you want to grow food this year, the amount of work in front of you will depend on a few factors. Are you starting a new bed? Are you maintaining an existing bed? Are you repurposing an existing bed that was used for something else (ie: flowers).
Repurposing an existing flower bed
If you are taking over an existing flower bed (as I have done multiple times). Then it is just a matter of removing the existing flowers, removing and weeds and rocks, turning the soil (one of these hand tillers is key) and adding soil amendments as needed (more on this later).
Starting from scratch
If however you are staring at a patch of grass and imagining copious amounts of veggies in its place you have a bit more work on your hands. If you are daft like me then you could use your hand tiller to (very slowly) remove it all. Yes, I did do this and it got me a new 10-foot x 10-foot garden but I (and my back) wouldn’t recommend it let me tell you!
The best (and easiest) way to start a new garden from scratch is to lay down cardboard right where you want the garden to be. Yup, right on top of the grass! Then you can just put a nice thick layer of cardboard on top and start planting! The concept is the same if you want a raised bed. Just put the frame on top of the cardboard. As the cardboard decomposes it will kill the grass and any weeds and you will have a lovely and relatively easy new garden!
Maintaining an existing vegetable garden
If you already have an established bed then there shouldn’t be too much for you to do. You just need to help keep it healthy so that your plants will thrive. Nothing is worse for your harvest than continuing to grow in the same soil without a focus on keeping it healthy!
Dig vs no dig
When you are building a new vegetable garden, one of the first things you have to decide is if you are going to dig or not dig. It may seem like a strange question, but in reality, you don’t need to dig the soil to have a fruitful garden. I myself am going fully no-dig starting this year. One of the main benefits of no-dig is that you do not disturb the soil structures. This can actually help reduce the amount of water your plants need and even help reduce weeds! But as with anything gardening-related, this is a personal choice and if your garden is fruitful and you rototill it every year then carry on my friend!
Soil vs compost
Ah, the soil! Along with sun and water, the soil forms the trifecta of gardening needs (on a basic level). The answer to what kind of soil you need when you start a vegetable garden will depend (sorry) on what you are planning to grow. Some plants will want soil that is high in compost. While others will want soil with a higher pH or lower pH. Some plants will want well-draining soil, others prefer it if more sandy.
Don’t confuse compost with soil, they are not the same thing. Compost is used as an amendment to the soil and I rely on it a lot in my garden. As I transition to no-dig I will be adding about an inch of compost to the tops of my raised beds at the end of each season. This will help feed the soil so that it continues to stay alive and thrive. Take care of the soil and the plants will take care of themselves. I always make my own compost as it is a great way to use up any kitchen scraps (you can also make your own broths). This year I am branching out from my current tumbling composter and getting into vermicomposting.
Weeding
Before you start planting your seedlings you are going to want to make sure that your garden is free of any weeds. You don’t want anything competing with your plants for either space, light or nutrients. Now let’s not pretend that weeding is a once and done thing because it’s not. But spending a bit of time thoroughly going over your bed at the start of the season is a good way to get started.
Soil testing
Before we jump into the next subject of soil amendments I thought it would be prudent to talk about taking the guesswork out of the equation. You can go the cheap route and get a soil testing kit off Amazon or you can send off a soil sample to be tested in a lab. That is not to say this is necessary but it can be helpful to actually know the state of your soil before adding amendments to make sure you don’t inadvertently cause a different issue.
Soil amendments
All plants want and will benefit from nutrients in the soil. If you just start a vegetable garden in ‘dead’ soil, devoid of nutrients you shouldn’t expect much. The difference will be in how you get nutrients into the soil and what kinds you opt to use in your garden. So what exactly is a soil amendment? Well, it is anything that you add to the soil in order to improve its physical properties. This could be water retention, aeration, permeability or structure. Some common soil amendments are listed below, and which you may need to add will depend largely on the quality and type of your soil.
• Peat moss
• Manure
• Compost
• Perlite
• Vermiculite
• Lime
• Seaweed
• Fertilizers
• Greensand
• Wood chips
Mulching
Another good way to prepare your beds for the new gardening season is to mulch them. Mulching helps to prevent weeds, helps control soil temperature and conserves water to name just a few of the benefits. Once your plants are in it also helps prevent water from splashing up onto lower leaves which is especially important for tomato plants! But as with anything, you can end up with too much of a good thing. If you mulch is laid on to thick (more than 2 inches). It can start to smother plants or attract pests.
Using eggshells in the garden
There are a lot of differing opinions on how best to use eggshells in the garden so I just wanted to share what I know on the subject. From the research, I have done, and my own practical experience, I strongly recommend that you grind eggshells into a powder before using them in the garden. Even in this form, you will be best served to add it to your compost pile. Eggshells are very hard and made up of about 95-97% calcium carbonate and they take YEARS to break down. By crushing them into a fine powder you are helping to accelerate the process. I know people say you can crush them up and use them to deter slugs but this is more rumour than scientific fact.
So that’s it folks, how much work you need to do to prepare your ground for plants will depend on a lot of factors. No two gardens are created equal and a lot of the whole gardening process is about finding out what works for you and your garden
