How to Prepare a Garden

Preparing the soil helps grow healthy vegetables.

A well-planned garden provides delicious fresh vegetables with the added benefit of knowing exactly what went into them. A garden takes careful planning and preparation to ready the soil for growing vegetables, and there are a variety of methods to use. If you have never planted a garden before, plan a small plot to start with, but place it in an area where it can be easily expanded. Container gardens or raised bed gardens work well when space is limited.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil and paper
• Measuring tape
• Organic matter or compost
• Shovel, hoe and rake
• Rototiller (optional)
• Stakes
• String
• Seeds or seedlings
• Fertilizer

Instructions

Planning and Preparation

1. Study your yard over several weeks to determine the best location for your garden. Vegetables grow best with six to eight hours of full sun a day. Other things to consider are access to water, usually via a watering hose; the proximity of trees or bushes that could interfere with sunlight and root systems; the slope of the land -- level land is ideal; and whether a fence is required to keep out animals.

2. Measure the area to determine the best size for the garden and sketch a map to scale. Decide which gardening method you wish to use, such as raised bed, container or in-ground, with straight rows, wide rows or squares, including paths in between the planting areas.

3. Plan which vegetables you want to plant and add this information to your map. Research each type of plant to determine which thrive in your plant hardiness zone, which grow best next to each other, when to plant them and how much space the mature plants require. Note whether it is best to plant seeds or seedlings, also known as transplants. Rotate the plant locations every year for a healthier garden.

4. Test the soil to obtain the pH level, the nutrients it contains and verify it is safe for growing food plants.

5. Prepare the soil by getting rid of grass and amending the entire area with organic matter. The best time to start this process is in the fall. There are a variety of methods you can use to get rid of the grass, including lasagna gardening, spreading compost or treated manure, or covering the area with plastic mulch or gardening cloth until the grass dies.

6. Till the top 8 inches of soil or turn it with a garden shovel to incorporate the organic matter and loosen compacted soil.

Planting

1. Measure the spacing between each planned row and mark where the rows will be planted.

2. Place a stake at either end of a row and stretch a length of string between the stakes to delineate the row.

3. Plant the seeds according to the instructions for that particular plant. For example, bean seeds should be planted about 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart, according to the Cornell University Growing Guide. Hoe a furrow under the string that is about 1 inch deep and place the bean seeds along the row about 2 inches apart, then cover them with soil.

4. Plant seedlings by digging a hole to the depth of their current container, remove them from the container if necessary and place them in the hole, then pack dirt around the roots. Peat pots can be set directly into the hole, though it helps the root system develop if you gently pull apart the bottom of the peat cup.

5. Water the seeds and seedlings gently after planting, and as recommended for each individual plant.

6. Remove weeds as they appear, or spread mulch once the plants start sprouting to keep weeds from growing because they compete with your plants for water and nutrients.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy transplants or seeds that are resistant to disease and insects in your area. Iowa State University Extension recommends buying new seeds every year rather than saving some from your current harvest to use next year. The saved seeds are likely to be less disease resistant, or they may grow off-type and produce poor quality crops.

References

• Iowa State University; Planting a Home Vegetable Garden; Henry G. Taber, et al.; 2009
• Clemson University Cooperative Extension; Planning a Garden; Bob Polomski; 2005
• University of Maryland Extension: Starting a Garden

Resources

• National Arbor Day Foundation: Hardiness Zone Map
• Cornell University: Vegetable Growing Guides
• Growing Taste: Colored Plastic Mulches for Vegetable Gardening