Soil Preparation

I would like to improve my vegetable garden. I know I need to work a lot to improve the soil that looks like clay. Can someone give me some advice what to buy and how to prepare? I would like to plant some papers, tomatoes and cucumbers - for a salad from my own garden.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Polly McDaniel on March 12, 2008 at 3:23pm

Composted black cow or mushroom material. You can buy 40 ot 50 pound bags of the stuff for around $2 each. You may have to buy several. Also save your leaves! As they break down they become good compost. You want the soil to not only be rich but to be broken up to where water can get down to the roots. Clay soils are compacted and this hinders water absorption. so sand, broken down leaves, even little rocks help in this regard. As to the composted manure, it adds nutrients to the soil.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Coyle on March 13, 2008 at 8:42am

Polly is definitely right. The key is to really break up the clay by adding organic soil amendments. Composted materials are a great start. My favorite to use is mushroom compost. It is a wonderful combination of stinky stuff that has been broken down into usable matter by mushroom mycelium. This will give start with some nutrients as well.

With peppers and tomatoes, it would also be a good idea to add some gypsum. These plants grow best in soil that is slightly higher pH than what we have here. Adding compost, or other organic material will likely lower the pH of the soil as well, so all the more reason to balance things out with gypsum. It is a good source of usable calcium for tomatoes and peppers as well.

Most importantly, if you are going to get started with veggies now, best to do more cool season veggies. Our frost free date is still at least a month out, and the veggies you describe above would get zapped by freezing temps. Greens, broccoli, stuff like this is good now. Nurseries should have a good selection of cool season veggies in starter flats this time of year.