Complementaria I: PREPARING THE GROUND

Preparing the ground

To give plants a good start in life its essential to provide well-prepared, fertile soil.

The amount of soil preparation will depend on what you’re faced with. You may have a garden that just needs lots of weeding; your completely new garden may have a layer of topsoil hiding piles of builders’ rubble; or you may want to remove areas of lawn to make space for more plants.
Whatever your scenario, the cure is the same - elbow grease. It may not be an attractive proposition, but, believe me, time spent doing the ground work will repay you a hundredfold in lower maintenance once the garden is up and running.

The first step is to get rid of the rubbish and dig out tired old shrubs and weeds, especially perennial weeds such as thistle, nettle, bindweed, ground elder and couch grass. Remove all parts of the roots: rhizome, tap root and bits of brick bat. But, don’t be over hasty. Keep an eye out for surviving plants. This is especially important in winter when they may be ‘resting’ below ground. Let them grow, and if they’re no good take them out. But remember, they may turn out to be a real treasure.

Manure

This can vary in quality, depending on the animal it came from and the farming system. For example, manure from horse stables is better than from intensively farmed cows where little straw bedding is used. Whatever its origin, don’t apply it fresh - it releases ammonia that damages or kills plants. Let it ‘mature’ or rot down for six months.

Leaf mould

You’ll only get this if you’re lucky enough to have a patch of woodland in your own garden, or if you can collect a lot of dead leaves to rot down. Whatever you do, don't go collecting it from woods.

Composted bark

This is the next best thing to leaf mould, available in bags from most garden centres. It looks rather similar to coarse peat but holds moisture without going ‘boggy’. Chipped bark (pictured left) is a substitute commonly used for mulching.

Mushroom compost

Nowadays it is often peat based, rather than the traditional rotted horse manure. It tends to be alkaline because of the chalk used in the mix, but if your soil isn’t already alkaline, mushroom compost is not a bad source of organic matter. It is always a good idea to check your soil pH first.

Garden compost

A very cheap and convenient option, and usually richer in nutrients than other types of organic matter. Find ou thow to make it yourself in a compost heap, piled with kitchen and garden waste.

Peat

Nowadays increasing concern at the environmental damage caused to wetland habitats by peat extraction means that responsible gardeners are using alternatives. Anyway, peat contains almost no nutrients and breaks down quickly.
Recycled materials
There are all sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions – anything from county council waste to shredded bank notes! A good idea is to call your council for details of their own recycling schemes, and keep an eye on what is on offer in garden centres.

Digging

This is one of the most fundamental and hated of all gardening jobs, although chiropractors make a fortune from it! So, why should we do it? Digging helps to control annual weeds (when not in seed.) Turning them in to the soil (burying them) cuts out the need to compost them and allows perennial weeds to be extracted from the soil. Plus, digging can be incredibly satisfying and gives you time to think!

Digging ‘fluffs up’ the soil compacted (squashed down) by heavy wellies and rainfall. Fluffy soil contains air that plant roots need, drains more quickly, and is easier for roots to grow through the soil.
Tradition had it that the ‘only’ way to dig a new bed ‘properly’ was to double-dig it. This is incredibly hard work that you don’t need to do if you just want to grow ornamentals. Another name for it is ‘bastard trenching’, I’ll let you figure out why…
How to dig
Honestly, this isn’t a ‘how to boil water’ thing, but it's like learning to drive - it's easier to learn good habits than to ‘unlearn’ bad ones. So bear with me.

You will need

•    A digging spade
•    A digging fork
•    Well-rotted organic matter
•    General organic fertiliser such as blood, bone and fishmeal

And remember, keep your back as straight as possible while digging and take regular breaks between trenches to avoid back strain.

1. Remove perennial weeds and rubbish

2. Start at one end of the bed and dig a straight trench, about 25cm (10in) wide along the width of the area. Pile the soil you’ve dug out at the other end of the area to be dug.

3. Fork in a 7cm to 10cm (3in to 4in) layer of organic matter into the bottom of the trench all along its length.

4. Working with your back towards the pile of soil, dig another 25cm (10in) wide trench across the area (only dig to the depth of the spade - one spit’s depth) and turn each spade load of soil so it lands upside down in the first trench, covering the manure.

5. As you go, remove any perennial weed roots you find.

6. So, by the time you reach the end of the row, you’ll have filled in the first trench and made a second one about 25cm (10in) further down the plot.

7. Then, use the fork and bash any big clods of soil earth down to walnut-sized lumps.

8. Continue steps three to seven until you have dug the whole area, and use the original pile of soil to fill in your final trench.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg/module4/preparing_the_ground.shtml

More information about “preparing soil”

When soil is in good shape there is less need for fertilizers or pesticides. Organic soil is rich in humus, the end result of decaying materials such as leaves, grass clippings and compost. It holds moisture, but drains well. Good organic garden soil is loose and fluffy — filled with air that plant roots need — and it has plenty of minerals essential for vigorous plant growth.

Testing

One way to determine what minerals are lacking or abundant in your soil is to get it tested. Local Cooperative Extension Services often offer low cost soil tests. These tests usually measure levels of soil pH, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and sometimes nitrogen. They may also report the soil’s micronutrient content, but this isn’t essential to the gardener who adds plenty of organic matter to her soil. For a less intensive test, pick up a do-it-yourself version such as the Rapitest Soil Test Kit and do your own simple, rewarding chemistry.

PH levels can be critical to your plant’s ability to absorb nutrients. Most minerals and nutrients are best available to plants in soils with a pH of between 6.5-6.8. If your soil is acidic (low pH, at or below 6.0) or alkaline (high pH, above 7.0) it doesn’t matter how rich it is in nutrients, the plants won’t be able to absorb them. pH is usually included in a soil test.

Silty soils are dense and do not drain well. They are more fertile than either sandy or clay soils.Heavy clay soils are quite dense, do not drain well and tend to be hard and crack when dry. Because there isn’t much space between the clay particles, there usually isn’t much organic matter or microbial life in the soil. Plant roots have a hard time growing in the hard material.

There are 5 different soil types that gardeners and growers usually work with. All five is a combination of just three types of weathered rock particles that make up the soil: sand, silt, and clay. How these three particles are combined defines your soil’s type—how it feels to the touch, how it holds water, and how it’s managed, among other things.

1. Soil Type: Sandy, arenoso
2. Soil Type: Silty, limoso
3. Soil Type: Clay, arcilloso

http://agverra.com/blog/soil-types/

What is soil pH?

Soil pH is the measure of the acidity (sourness) or alkalinity (sweetness) of a soil. A simple numerical scale is used to express pH. The scale goes from 0.0 To 14.0, with 0.0 being most acid, and 14.0 being most alkaline. The value, 7.0 is neutral--i.e., neither acid or alkaline.

http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/pubs/oh34.htm

Soil pH: What it Means

From the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry...

Soil pH or soil reaction is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in pH units. Soil pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as the neutral point. As the amount of hydrogen ions in the soil increases the soil pH decreases thus becoming more acidic. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or basic.

Descriptive terms commonly associated with certain ranges in soil pH are:

•    Extremely acid: < than 4.5; lemon=2.5; vinegar=3.0; stomach acid=2.0; soda=2–4
•    Very strongly acid: 4.5–5.0; beer=4.5–5.0; tomatoes=4.5
•    Strongly acid: 5.1–5.5; carrots=5.0; asparagus=5.5; boric acid=5.2; cabbage=5.3
•    Moderately acid: 5.6–6.0; potatoes=5.6
•    Slightly acid: 6.1–6.5; salmon=6.2; cow's milk=6.5
•    Neutral: 6.6–7.3; saliva=6.6–7.3; blood=7.3; shrimp=7.0
•    Slightly alkaline: 7.4–7.8; eggs=7.6–7.8
•    Moderately alkaline: 7.9–8.4; sea water=8.2; sodium bicarbonate=8.4
•    Strongly alkaline: 8.5–9.0; borax=9.0
•    Very strongly alkaline: > than 9.1; milk of magnesia=10.5, ammonia=11.1; lime=12

http://www.esf.edu/PUBPROG/brochure/soilph/soilph.htm

Soil Type: Sandy

Soil Type: Clay

Soil Type: Silty

THREE SOIL TYPES:

Soil Life

          A healthy organism population is essential to healthy soil. These little critters make nutrients available to plants and bind soil particles into aggregates that make the soil loose and fluffy. Soil organisms include earthworms, nematodes, springtails, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, mites and many others.

          Some of these organisms can be purchased and added to the soil, but unless the environment is suitable for them, they will languish. Better to create an ideal habitat by providing the food (organic matter), air and water they need and let them thrive on their own.

          Some planting tools: to plant bulbs, seeds, bushes or trees, Can used from a dibber to a trowel to a planting spade, they'll give you the help you need when planting or transplanting.