Preparing Your Soil

preparation is key

Planting a victory garden or vegetable garden this year? Or your best flower bed ever? Take the time in early spring to prepare the soil before you plant. It’s the single most important, game-changing investment you can make, in addition to choosing quality plants and seeds. Loose, dark, soil rich in nutrients is the goal, and it’ll go a long way to ensure a plentiful harvest. Preparing garden soil is how you achieve this. We recommend taking the following steps between late March and late April to prepare your garden soil.

clear debris & weeds

Start by cleaning up any winter debris or remnants of last year’s garden, including cold-weather weeds that may have persevered over winter or sprouted fresh as winter transitioned to spring. Apply Captain Jack’s™ Deadweed Brew, approved for organic vegetable gardening, to kill actively growing weeds fast and effectively, even in temperatures as low as 40⁰F.

Amend the soil

Loosen and add fresh nutrients every single year. Vegetable plants are heavy feeders and they deplete soil nutrients from year to year, so it’s important to replenish critical nutrients. Incorporate pre-composted organic matter, organic plant food, and amendments that balance pH and sweeten our naturally acidic Northeast Ohio clay soil. For example, apply a 2-3” layer of Compost & Manure, Sweet Peet®, or Petitti Planting Mix™ and turn over the soil with a shovel to better incorporate the fresh organic nutrients into garden bed.

boost efficacy with lime

Apply Espoma® Organic® Lightning Lime™ as directed to make the bed more conducive to vegetable garden production. In acidic clay soils (typical of the ground soil we have in Northeast Ohio), lime improves water penetration and makes it so that your future plants will be better able to take up the organic nutrients provided. Lime also supports healthy soil bacteria and beneficial microbes.

Condition the soil

If heavy clay soil is present in the ground where you’re growing a vegetable garden, and it probably is (if you’re living in Northeast Ohio), add Espoma® Organic® Soil Perfector®. This will permanently improve the issue of heavy clay soil in the area by conditioning it over time, aerating it, and preventing soil compaction.

prevent new weeds

If you’re planning to install starter plants, and you’re not planning to sow seeds, sprinkle a layer of Preen® as directed over top all of your soil work. This will prevent any weed seeds present in the soil from having a chance to germinate, which will save you quite a bit of hand-weeding during the growing season.

let it rest

Allow the newly prepared soil to settle for about 2 weeks before planting it up. Nutrients will blend, the soil will warm up and drain, and the garden will be ready to plant with warm-weather vegetables by our average “last frost date”, which is typically around May 15 in Northeast Ohio. Planting cold crops like leafy greens, broccoli, peas, onions, radishes, beets, and more is okay to do earlier in late March/early April.

onward on to victory!

By taking the time mid-April to clear your vegetable garden bed of weeds and add nutrient-rich organic amendments, and by allowing proper time for the soil to settle, you’ll be on the road to victory with a garden bed that is truly prepared to support the quality vegetable starter plants you’ll be adding in the days and weeks ahead.

Back to Vegetable & Herb Gardening

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