Vegetable Garden Preparation Tips
When deciding to start a vegetable garden there are several important things to be aware of which can vastly improve your harvest. The team at Centenary Landscaping Supplies has compiled a list of their favourite vegetable garden preparation tips to help you get the most out of your gardening efforts.
Soil Preparation
Before getting stuck in and planting out your veggie garden, consider reconditioning your tired soil, or if it’s a new container bed, get nutrient rich soil to start with. Ideal vegetable garden soil should be loose, deep and crumbly. It should drain well (water should not stand on top after rain) and contain plenty of organic matter (see the next tip below). Good garden soil will deliver the right mixture of air, water, and nutrients to grow a large root system and strong, productive plants. If you’re working with an existing vegetable garden and have had successful results previously you may need to do very little preparation to get started for the next season.
To recondition soil in an existing bed, we suggest using either the UltraGrow Activator Soil Conditioner or Aquaten Soil Conditioner & Wetting Agent. Activator can either be dug into the top 100 – 200mm of soil or added on top as a no-dig option. Aquaten works best when it’s dug into the soil just before planting.
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FertilisersAquaten Soil Conditioner & Wetting Agent
$110.00 – $330.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Organic Material
All vegetables need a healthy amount of organic material in the soil in which they grow. Organic material serves many purposes but most importantly, it provides many of the nutrients that plants need to grow. Secondly, organic material “softens” soil so that the roots can more easily spread. Organic material also acts like small sponges and allows the soil in your vegetable garden to retain water. Organic material can come from either a compost or manure, or a combination of both.
To provide your veggie garden with the necessary organic material, we recommend our Enviro Compost. It is the perfect product for your veggie garden to provide organic material to your plants for their growth. Dig it through your existing soil before planting.
Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
When it comes to soil preparation for vegetable garden, these three nutrients are the keys that all plants require. They are also commonly referred to as N-P-K which you would have spotted before on the side of many fertiliser bags. While organic material does provide these nutrients, you may have to adjust them individually depending on your individual soil. This can be done with chemical fertilisers or if you prefer, organically.
- To add nitrogen organically, use products like well composted manure.
- To add phosphorus organically, use bone meal or rock phosphate.
- To add potassium organically, use products like potash.
Make sure you check out our Granular and Liquid fertilisers by UltraGrow.
Mulching
Once you have planted your crop, make sure you put down a nice thick layer of mulch. Mulches such as Lucerne and Sugar Cane are perfect for protecting the soil, preventing weeds, retaining moisture and promoting microbial activity. For best results re-apply mulch every 6 months at a minimum.
Don’t forget to tag us (@centenarylandsc) in your photos /videos of your veggie garden journey – we’d love to see how your harvest goes!