Soil preparation is a very important factor to consider when planning your own home vegetable garden. To start soil preparation for vegetable garden, choose a day in early spring or early fall– depending on which season you are preparing to plant vegetables for– where the soil is not too wet. A quick way to tell if the soil is too wet is to form small ball of the soil in your hands. As long as the ball is not very sticky and crumbles easily, you can go ahead and fill the soil.
Some tools you need to include a trowel, shovel, hoe and rake.you may also need a ruler to measure the vegetable garden bed.
If you are unsure of the quality of the soil in the location where you are planting vegetables, you can take a small sample and have it tested. Many local nurseries and garden centers will test a soil sample for you.
After tilling the soil, go ahead and add fertilizer or compost to the soil. You want to find fertilizer that is suitable for vegetables, as general lawn preparations could contain harmful herbicides or improper combination of nutrients, which would hinder vegetable growth.
Tilling a Home Garden
Dig down 4 to 6 inches deep into the soil– or more depending on your plant vegetables– and add fertilizer. Prepare the soil directly preceding seed plantation or rake the soil just prior to planting to prevent weed growth. Many people choose to prepare their own compost from food shavings and egg shells. Other organic options include cow manure and peat moss.
Fertilizer comes in dry and liquid forms, in a concentration of 5-10-5, 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. The first number is the percentage of nitrogen in the fertilizer. The second number is the percentage of phosphorus in the fertilizer. The third number is the percentage of potassium in the fertilizer.
