How to Create the Best Soil for a Vegetable Garden

Vegetable gardens can either produce abundant vegetables or perform poorly based on the quality of soil that they are planted in. A number of factors influence the quality of soil for a vegetable garden. These may include the organic content of soil, soil-borne pathogens that can build up after seasons of intense gardening, the soil's pH and the nutrients present in the soil. You can improve your soil by learning its present condition and adjusting it. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Take a sample of your soil by placing the tip of a soil auger in your vegetable garden. Turn the auger in a clockwise motion to drill soil out of the ground. When you have pulled up a quart of soil, scoop it into a bucket with a trowel. Repeat this process over 10 locations across your garden. Stir the soil with a trowel. Spread it from the bucket over a newspaper to dry. When it has dried, collect 2 cups in a plastic bag. Take this soil to a soil laboratory for testing to learn the make-up of your soil. Your local County extension service can recommend a good soil laboratory for you to submit your sample to.

2

Select soil amendments based on the recommendations made by the soil laboratory test results. Good amendments for your soil include peat moss or coir fiber to improve drainage in clay soil and hold moisture in sandy soil, compost to add nutrients, dolomite lime to raise the pH of soil or sulfur to lower the pH.

3

Break up the soil of your vegetable garden using a rake, shovel and spade or rototiller. The soil should be loosened to a depth of 12 inches.

4

Cover the soil with a 4-inch layer of soil amendments. Organic amendments work best when you add them at a rate of 30 percent by volume. One good rule is to use 3 cubic feet of organic amendment per 1,000 square feet of soil.

5

Mix the amendments into the soil down to a depth of 12 inches with your rototiller or rake, spade and shovel.