Soil
Latest stories
More stories
-
in Gardening Tips, Soil
Organic Plant Nutrients for Vegetable Gardens
Plants require nutrients to grow and for good health. Most plant nutrients are common natural organic chemical elements. Sixteen organic chemical elements are the nutrients necessary for plant growth. Three are non-mineral elements that come from air and water; thirteen are mineral elements that come from the soil. All of these elemental nutrients in varying […] More
-
How Plants Grow in Your Vegetable Garden
Vegetable crops and other plants need light, water, air, nutrients, and the proper temperature to grow. Light for photosynthesis Plants use light to make food (carbohydrates—sugars and starches) in their leaves. This process is called photosynthesis; it is the transformation of light energy into chemical energy. Here’s how photosynthesis works: the green pigment in plant […] More
-
in Gardening Tips, Soil
Tilling, Digging, and Forking the Vegetable Garden
Once you have decided on a site for your vegetable garden and know what kind of soil you are working with and what amendments can make it better, it will be time to work the soil, to prepare for planting. Digging and tilling is not necessary in fertile well-structured soils. Good soils can be lightly […] More
-
in Gardening Tips, Soil
No Dig, Light Dig Vegetable Garden Preparation
There is an alternative to turning the soil with a tiller or spade. The no-dig or light-dig garden preparation method calls for spreading soil amendments across planting beds and allowing rain, wind, and soil organisms to naturally carry the amendments and their nutrients down into the soil. Using the no-dig method, an inch or two […] More
-
Vegetable Garden Soil Guide
The soil in your garden was created over thousands of years through the disintegration and decomposition of rock and organic matter. Temperature and rainfall, the life and death of plants, animals and bacteria, and fungi, and the rocks that were there, to begin with: all contributed to the soil you find in your garden today. […] More
-
Cover Crops and Green Manure for the Vegetable Garden
Cover crop, green manure crop, and catch crop are three interchangeable terms to describe crops that feed, build, and protect the soil and attract and feed beneficial insects and soil microorganisms. Cover crops are planted to cover planting beds and enrich the soil. When a cover crop is turned under to decay and to feed […] More
-
Vegetable Garden Soil pH
Soil pH is a scale used to measure the soil’s acidity or alkalinity. Alkaline soil is called “sweet” by gardeners and farmers; acidic soil is called “sour.” Soil pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Acidic soil measures below 7; alkaline soil measures greater than 7. Soil pH […] More
-
in How to Grow
Pre-Warm Cold Soil Before Planting Vegetables
Pre-warm cold soil before sowing or transplanting warm-weather crops into the garden. Black or clear plastic sheeting is a simple and inexpensive way to warm the soil and get a jump on the growing season. You can also dig, loosen, and turn over the soil in planting beds so that solar heat reaches it. Warm-weather […] More
-
in Gardening Tips, Guides
No-Dig and Light-Dig Garden Preparation
The no-dig or light-dig garden preparation method calls for spreading soil amendments across planting beds and allowing rain, wind, and soil organisms to till or work the amendments and their nutrients into the soil. You do not have to dig or use a rototiller in your garden every year. Lightly turning planting beds with a […] More
-
How to Improve Clay Soil
Clay soils are too wet or too dry, slow to drain, slow to warm in the spring, and slow to release nutrients to plant roots. The best way to improve clay soil is to add several inches of organic matter such as aged compost to planting beds regularly—at least twice a year–and work it into […] More
Stephen Albert
