

If you’re not sure how much sun your garden spot will get during the summer months, use the Sunseeker App. This is a great average number of hours as some crops take less sunlight, while others take more. Has Adequate SunlightĬhoose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight. If you live in an apartment, you’ll just have to make do with whatever sunlight your balcony or a sunny window receives. Check out this information on complete organic fertilizer here.ĭepending on where you live you may not have a choice as to where your garden goes. In a raised bed or a garden plot, you’ll just need to add about an inch of good quality compost to amend the soil.Ĭomplete Organic Fertilizer – Steve Solomon’s recipe for a complete organic fertilizer is great and works in nearly any type of soil you have. This will work well for less demanding crops. You can use the discarded soil in your larger garden beds by mixing it in and amending it with some minerals and additional compost. Amending Soil in Containersĭepending on what you grew in your container and how heavily you used the soil, you’ll want to eliminate about 50% of it and replace it with good quality compost. If you have the time and resources and really want to get a garden going quickly or resuscitate one with depleted soil then follow the directions above in the fall or very early spring, then layer compost on that and mulch to follow where appropriate for what you are growing. Though this is the harder route, it will be worth it to improve your soil.

If this isn’t an option for you, you could try and source a large amount of manure (cow, chicken, goat, rabbit, pig, etc.), and a large amount of organic materials (leaves, straw, or hay – be sure there is no spray, seeds or chemicals).Īllow everything to break down for about 6-8 weeks, then mix the two of them together. Six inches of good quality soil is a great start for a new garden.
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To learn how to make your own compost check out How to Make Compost the Easy Way – Composting 101. I know this can get expensive, and many people want to skip this step, but the compost WILL pay for itself in the garden because your vegetable production will just be better and your vegetables healthier. To improve your soil quickly for new or neglected gardens you just need to go buy the best quality compost you can. The healthier your soil, the healthier your plants, and the better they’ll be able to resist the harmful pests. Microscopic critters! It may seem odd, but having bugs, bacteria, and other little microscopic organisms isn’t always a bad thing! We call this the soil food web.
