What is the first thing you put in a garden?
I prefer organic compost – i put my plants straight into that and they grow fast, large, and healthy. Many garden centers now sell bags of raised bed soil and that’s a good option too. Use a rake to even the soil out, but don’t smoosh it down – plants like non-compacted soil for their roots to easily spread through. Place a 3- to 4-inch layer of compost on your garden, then use a digging fork or broadfork to gently work it into the soil. If you get your compost in place while soil is still warm, the microbes and beneficial soil-dwelling critters will start working right away to break it down and get it ready for spring.
What is the best thing to add to garden soil?
Add Organic Matter Compost (or aged manure) adds nutrients, improves drainage, and loosens compacted soil so roots get the oxygen they need. According to Cornell University: For new garden beds, mix 2 to 3 inches of compost into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil. You can add new soil every year if you want to. But you never have to remove the old soil. Add some compost or local soil and peat moss mixed together. Don’t add cow manure or chicken manure in spring (save that for late fall when your gardening season is done so it has time to break down).
What is best to put on soil before planting?
Whether your soil is light and sandy or heavy clay, digging in bulky organic matter – which means well-rotted manure, compost, leafmould, composted bark, mushroom compost or anything in fact that you can get in bulk – will help. Adding lots of homemade compost or well-rotted farmyard manure is a cheap and easy way to boost soil structure.