Organic vegetable garden: What is important to note about your soil before you plant.

I have started my own organic vegetable garden and thought it would be helpful to know what is important to note about your soil before you plant anything, hopefully you can benefit just as I did from a small amount of research.

Soil is usually taken for granted as being a medium which, given some organic matter, fertilizer and water, will produce vegetables. Good soil management, however, plays an important role in growing good quality vegetables. The function of soil is to give support and anchorage to plants; it must supply water, oxygen and nutrients for plant growth, be relatively free of toxic elements. Given these basics, most vegetables grow in soils ranging from light sandy soil through to heavy clay if the soil is well drained, has high fertility and a soil acidity-alkalinity range reasonably correct for each vegetable.

Generally, gardeners have little choice in positioning a vegetable garden, and when once established many sites are not changed for years, if ever. Even with good rotation the possibilities of build-ups of soil pests and diseases are always present and may make vegetable growing more difficult. The importance of organic matter in the soil cannot be overemphasised. Almost all soils can support plant life if organic matter in the form of animal manure, compost, decomposed leaves, grass clippings, straw, hay, and other similar materials is added. Dark-brown soils usually indicate a high organic matter content with the topsoil containing the highest percentage.

Organic matter is not only a stabilising factor in soil texture and a source of limited plant nutrients; it is also a soil conditioner. It increases the soil’s capacity to hold moisture and nutrients; it lightens heavy soils, adds body to light soils, and helps reduce soil crusting, which often retards seedling emergence.

Some indicators of poor soils are: misshapen root vegetables, poor and shallow root systems, low yield, rapid and regular wilting in dry weather, crusting of the soil surface, poor drainage and inability to dig to a full spade depth. Soil maintenance, for optimum growth, is a combination of using organic matter at least once a year – more often with intensive growing – to ensure adequate humus – degraded organic material in soil – for good soil structure, plus fertilizers for specific plants’ needs before sowing or planting and as a supplementary feed during the growing period.

Soil pH: Most vegetables grow well in slightly to moderately acid soils so it is important to know the degree of soil acidity or alkalinity. The basis for determining it is the pH scale. The scale runs from 0 to 14 with its centre being pH7.0 which indicates a neutral soil. A higher value, pH7.5 indicates a slightly alkaline soil, while ph 6.5 is slightly acid. Inexpensive, simple to operate and understand, pH kits are available and should be part of every vegetable gardener’s equipment.

Rotation: Crop rotation is important, particularly when a vegetable garden is used intensively. The rigid division of the vegetable garden into three or four sections, commonly advocated for purposes of rotation, has little application in modern intensive culture, mainly because limited space and full use of beds throughout most of the year prevent the operation of old rotation systems. The two most important points to consider in modern rotation are: Never grow the same or a related crop in the same place two years in succession and never grow vegetables with extensive root systems in succession.

I hope this information will help you get your soil ready for your vegetables. Thank you for reading this article.

published 7 months ago

Elouise

375 points