You may have a garden that just needs lots of weeding; your completely new garden may have a layer of topsoil hiding piles of builders’ rubble; or you may want to remove areas of lawn to make space for more plants. For another quick fix, water plants several times with a solution of 2 tablespoons vinegar to a gallon of water. This is the only chance you get to put fertilizer below the bulb. Add organic matter each year during soil preparation to build and maintain the soil. It may just be “dirt” to us, but soil is home to your plants. Spring is coming, the birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and we’re here to get our garden ready for another bumper harvest. Simply add an inch or two of peat to the topsoil in and around plants, or during planting. Soil Texture. Use wood chips, leaves, hay, straw or bark to mulch around plants and add at least 2 inches of organic material each year. Rake the soil so that it is smooth and level. While this might work if you have excellent soil, most of us need to alter our dirt to create the most optimum growing environment. Different plants have different nutritional needs, but in most cases, a balanced complete fertilizer will be the type to use. Mark out the area with pegs and string, or use a trickle of sand, then clear grass and weeds. Separate the grass in small pieces and toss it into the garbage can. Preparing soil that will produce a healthy garden is more complicated than choosing a spot and digging holes to plant in. Winter temperatures and moisture help mellow soil. How to make your own potting soil. 1. Work the soil with the spade to begin to loosen it. Prepare your vegetable garden soil the year before you plant your garden. Start digging. Before planting anything in your yard, prepare your garden beds by digging to loosen the soil and adding organic material! Whether your garden bed is predominantly sandy or full of clay, the solution to improving it is the same: adding organic matter, such as compost or well-rotted manure. Preparing soil early allows for nutrients and additives to breakdown by decomposition to blend with existing soil. Blueberries are a fruit-producing shrub that benefit from your taking the time to prepare the soil before planting. Creating a New Flower Bed . To make sandy soil less sandy, mix 3-4 inches of organic matter (like compost) into the soil. Break up all clumps of dirt and work until the compost and the soil are completely mixed and the top 8 inches are loose. Apply 3 inches of compost or manure to the top of the soil. Adding organic matter in the form of compost and aged manure, or using mulch or growing cover crops (green manures), is the best way to prepare soil for planting. Spade the soil in the winter to prepare for spring planting. The biggest mistake beginning gardeners make is using lousy or too-thin soil. How to prepare your soil for spring planting Remove weeds. You can do it just prior to planting, too, but may have more weeds pop up throughout the growing season. Adding chemical fertilizers will replenish only certain nutrients and do nothing for maintaining good, friable soil. How to Prepare Soil for Flower Beds. It's easy, much cheaper than buying pre-made soil, and you can customize the mix to your plants' needs. Start with a fresh, sterile mix that will ensure healthy, disease-free seedlings. Even though bulbs store food for themselves, you need to help them out at planting time for best results by preparing soil for bulbs. When it comes time to put plants in the ground, are you sure your soil is ready for planting? Do-it-yourself soil test kits work best for detecting the soil pH, but give only a rough idea of the nutrient levels. by C. Colston Burrell. This early soil preparation will increase your chances of having a high-yield crop of vegetables. Remove all of the grass in this fashion from the flower bed. NEXT PAGE . If you're preparing to plant a garden for the first time, take a look at these steps for helping you get the soil prepped and ready to take care of your flowers, vegetables or herbs: Choose What You Want to Plant The first step to creating your first garden is deciding exactly what you plan on planting. How to Prepare Soil for a Garden. Need to learn how to prepare containers for planting? Your earth is literally the foundation of your property. In most gardens you can use a method of cultivating soil that is known as simple... Composting the soil. In this article, you’ll get to understand a few basics about soil, their different specs, and how to combine or improve them to create the best soil for your planting. Good soil has lots of organic matter (like decaying leaves and compost), nutrients for the plants, living organisms (like earthworms and fungi), and it needs to be turned or loosened so the roots can get oxygen and water can drain. You can plant through the winter, except when the ground is frozen or too wet. Prepare the potting soil. Digging removes the roots of persistent weeds from the soil. In order for the bulbs you plant to make use of food available in the soil, you need to start with healthy soil . Be sure all plant material is turned under the soil. Choose potting soil that's made for growing seedlings. Skim off turf with a spade or shovel and pile in a corner to rot down to form loam. It may seem like a matter of tossing in a few amendments and putting your plants in the earth, but carefully preparing your garden soil is key to having a healthy garden down the road.