Choosing The Perfect Soil For Your Home Vegetable Garden

Choosing The Perfect Soil For Your Home Vegetable Garden
By Loretta Crowder

For example, if you have a big lawn, it may be time to utilize part or all of that same lawn. I realize that growing grass just to have it look nice is a serious waste of resources and energy, so you may decide to plant some vegetables in part of that area. Please keep in mind that the vegetable garden should be located as close to the house as possible. Myself, I would prefer this garden to be near to the kitchen door so that I could run out pick a few vegetables and maybe some salad greens. This garden should be somewhere near a source of water and you should keep in mind the sunshine and shade factors.

You may resent this remark, but I will state at this time that if you have a place that just seems to grow weeds, this may be a good place to place your home vegetable garden - you know something grows even if you must pull more weeds.

What about drainage? As far as I know, soil has to breathe and earth that is drowned does not do so because oxygen cannot penetrate between the soil particles. So, if you have a choice, it is best not to have a garden on an extremely wet site.

Slope is another factor to consider when you are considering the success or failure of a vegetable garden. Just a couple of degrees of pitch to the south or west exposes the soil to more direct rays from the sun, allowing the garden to warm up earlier in the year, and lets you start planting sooner. Usually the ideal garden spot should have a three-degree tilt toward the south.

Usually garden sites are likely to be varied. There may be sunny spots, wet spots, hilly spots, and/or shady places, but with a little planning, you can use each area to best advantage by remembering that different crops do well in different environments.

If you have a choice of soils, sandy loam is the best. Also, consider the depth of the soil--will it dry out too soon? You should send a soil sample away to find out exactly what condition your soil is in.

Always remember that all the plants growing in your home vegetable garden seem to require different soils, so some areas may have to be treated with one thing and some areas may have to be treated with another thing.

If you rotate your crops, the soil can actually treat itself, but that is another topic for another tim

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