PREPPING YOUR SOIL FOR SPRING PLANTING

dammanns garden co preparing soil spring studying garden soil with gloves.jpg

It’s finally spring, and you’re probably itching to get into the garden and start planting! But before you do, you should prepare the soil in your garden for spring planting. Healthy soil relies on billions of microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and all sorts of other organisms, to nourish the plants growing within the soil biome. 

To keep your soil healthy, you should do your best to protect those essential elements and give them what they need to survive. Here are a few ways to prepare and improve your soil and get it ready to give your fruits, veggies, and flowers a healthy growing season. 

The best way to know exactly what your garden needs is by performing regular soil tests.

dammanns garden co preparing soil spring studying garden soil with purple glove.jpg

LET YOUR SOIL DRY

With all the melted snow followed by the early rains of spring, the soil can get really saturated. Walking in your garden when it’s still really wet can cause significant compaction, which makes the soil harder for plant roots and underground critters to navigate. 

Wait until the frost is out of the ground and the soil has dried a bit before you start working in the garden. Ideally, you should be able to roll some soil into a ball, like you would a snowball, but that ball should also break up fairly easily. If it’s all just sloppy mud, it’s still too wet. 

TEST YOUR SOIL PH AND NUTRIENT LEVELS

The best way to know exactly what your garden needs is by performing regular soil tests. You can buy affordable, simple to use test kits from the garden center that will help you determine the pH level and nutrient levels (of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) in your garden, so you can choose amendments to balance those levels. The results will help you better understand how to prepare your soil for the year.

You can also send test samples to one of the many soil labs in the Midwest for a more in-depth analysis. Results from a lab will usually include more detailed information about the nutrients, minerals, and organic matter of your soil. Many results will also include recommendations for preparing and amending your soil if there are any deficiencies or excesses in your soil.

ADD ORGANIC MATTER

No matter what your soil test results turn up, it’s always a good idea to add organic matter to your soil. Adding organic matter at least once per year gives all those microorganisms food to eat while also improving the soil texture, balancing moisture retention, and adding nutrients to the soil. 

Home-made compost is an excellent choice and the most affordable option, but if you don’t have enough to cover your whole garden, you can consider these alternatives: 

  • Well-rotted horse or cow manure (If it smells, it’s not rotted enough!)

  • Green manure (fall cover crops)

  • Mulches 

dammanns garden co preparing soil spring person mixing fertilizer.jpg

APPLY A SLOW-RELEASE ORGANIC FERTILIZER

Synthetic fertilizers target your plants’ specific needs, while organic fertilizers will improve the health of your soil. Both will help your plants grow. If your garden soil is low on nutrients, consider improving it with an organic fertilizer option. 

In addition to the organic matter listed above, organic fertilizers include:

  • Earthworm castings

  • Seaweed 

  • Seed meal

GET AHEAD OF THE WEEDS

It’s a good idea to get a jump start on the weeds that may show up in your garden before you even get anything planted. Pull them out or chop off the tops with a hoe before they go to seed, then rake them up and toss them into your compost bin. 

The sooner you get started on weeds, the weaker they’ll be, and the less of them you’ll have to pull throughout the rest of the season.

dammanns garden co preparing soil spring person tilling soil shovel.jpg

TILL OR WORK YOUR GARDEN SOIL (OR DON’T)

If you usually till your garden, get it done as soon as the soil is dry enough to do it safely. Before you till, make sure you go through and remove any weeds that may have gone to seed or are close to going to seed so that you don’t have to deal with them later.

If you do no-till or no-dig gardening, get your garden beds prepared for seeds or transplants. Usually, this means loosening just the top bit of soil in the planting area, sprinkling your seeds, and then spreading another layer of compost over the top. If you’re putting in transplants, you simply dig a small hole, just big enough for the transplant root ball, and then mulch around the plant with more compost.  

Learning how to prepare your soil is one of the easiest ways to set your garden up for success. Best of all, you can pick up all the supplies you could need for healthy, thriving beds by stopping by our garden center in Indianapolis!

Mattew DammannDammann's Garden CompanyDammann's Garden Company, Indianapolis, gardening tips, gardening, 2021, garden maintenance, garden center, spring care, spring, spring maintenance, soil, soil health, amend soil, soil care, garden soil, spring soil maintenance