Gardeners will often tell you that it is all about the soil. But what do they mean? Soil provides so many things for plants including moisture, air, nutrients, and somewhere for them to anchor their roots. Most soils need a bit of prep work to get them ready to plant.

Follow our 6 steps and your plants will be flourishing in no time.

Remove unwanted plants, pesky weeds and any debris including sticks, stones, old roots and rubbish. This prep work gets rid of growing impediments but also clears sources of pests and diseases as well as competition for moisture and nutrients. Remove large clumps of soil and if you find that you have clay soil, add some gypsum to help break it down.

 

Give weed seeds a chance to grow just a little before digging them out. Seeds often lie dormant in the soil, and doing step one gets them kick started to sprout. After removing them, place down a layer of mulch to prevent more from sprouting.

 

If leaving the soil dormant for a longer period of time, plant a green manure crop. One such as a legume crop can add nitrogen into the soil as it grows. The crop is then cut down and dug into the soil before planting later.

 

Mix in some pelletised or granular fertiliser flowing the packet instructions and dig or rake it in. Alternatively, add some organic matter such as manure or compost and work it into the soil. Leave the soil for a week after adding manure and before planting out.

 

After adding nutrients, water your soil. Make sure that it is soaking down through and penetrating deeply. If you find that the water is just puddling on the surface, you may have hydrophobic soil. Add a soil wetter by following the packet instructions.

Think about the space plants need, sunlight requirements and how many plants you need to keep your family fed. This may require a bit of research and some trial and error. Once you have figured out what you want to plant where, you can plan your rows and possibly add trenches or mounds ready to accommodate each type of plant.