by Sammy Stein

Created on: February 10, 2009

Different soils require different preparations before spring vegetable garden planning. If you have sandy soil, you will be able to start earlier becuase these soils warm up quicker as the days lengthen. Sandy soils will be useable up to two weeks before heavy clay soils. These soils warm up slowly and put back germination if you plant into them by days or weeks.

Sandy soil presents the vegetable garden with the problem that it is very easy to work but this also drains readily and this means that nutrients may drain easily away. This is called leaching and can be rectified by incorporating lots of organic material. Dig this in a couple of weeks before you plan to sow so it has had a chance to rot down because many vegetables will bolt if seed are sown into freshly fertilised soil.

Clay soils will present a bigger problem because not only are they slower to warm up but they remain cold for longer and can be waterlogged during winter. To combat this, dig in autumn and leave for frost action to break up the clods (the freeze-thaw action forces soil particles apart and reduces clumping). Dig well a couple of weeks before you plan to sow and add organic material. In this case, the organic material helps the very tiny clay particles to bind together to increase the size of clods and improve soil structure. If the clay is very heavy, incorporate some coarse sand at this time too. Doin gthis will make the nutrients, which are abundant in clay soils, more readily available to plant roots.

Check the pH of your soil with a standard pH test kit and you may want to check the nutrient levels using a kit if you have any concerns about this or if you have used the land for heavy crops the previous season.

Then, plan your sowing times and crop rotation. Whatever size of land you have, plan some long term, some quick maturing and some intercropping crops so you get a constant and regular harvest. Sow in succession every two weeks so you reduce the gluts of different crops and also plan when you are going to use crop protection to extend or bring forward the cropping time.

Use legumes like lucerne for a quick green manure between crops to replace lost nitrogen in the soil (taken by nitrogen hungry crops such as cabbages and other brassicas).

With a little planning you can make good use of even the smallest piece of land to grow many different kinds of vegetables. From peas to lettuce, parsnips to radishes, make sure you grow the plants which suit your site best for horticultural successs.

Choosing the right plants for the pH and nutrient levels saves having to adjust the pH using lime or chemicals and also means the plants have the best chance of success. Use companion plants to reduce the need for chemical pest control and make sure you dig well and create a fine tilth before sowing - trying to weed after sowing is very difficult and you can save time and effort by careful preparation.

Remove any perennial weeds including the underground stems and roots, remove stones larger than 2cm diameter and leave acces paths so you avoid compacting dug soil.

Just a little care and planning can make a huge difference to the success of your crop. Finally, and most importantly enjoy!

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