Guide to preparing soil for Spring

Healthy soil is essential for healthy plants, so it is important to know what soil type you have before you start preparing your garden for spring.

First things first – know your soil!

Knowing your garden’s soil type is crucial for maximizing your plant growth and yield. Each soil type has different planting methods and will support plants in a variety of ways.

There 4 main types of soil are:

Clay: heavy soil that is high in nutrients, and able to retain moisture.
Sandy: light texture, low in nutrients and dry out quicker than a heavier soil, making them easy to cultivate.
Silty: retains more moisture than sandy soil and is more fertile and fuller of nutrients.
Chalky: ranges in consistency, but tends to be rich in calcium carbonate, making it very alkaline.

It is also important to know the pH level in your soil. Knowing the soil’s pH level helps determine if it’s acidic, neutral, or alkaline, making it easier to decide what to plant.

0-6 is acidic.
7 is neutral.
8-14 is alkaline.

Create space to grow, by removing weeds

Once you know what type of soil you have, the next step is to start removing weeds from borders and beds. It’s a good idea to remove dead or unwanted vegetation and make sure beds have no plants or coverings.

To clear the soil, loosen it with a fork, allowing oxygen into the compost, remove stones, and break down soil lumps.

Check for pests to avoid them causing damage later

Make sure you inspect the soil and any perennial plants for any hibernating pests now! If you leave these, they will start hatching as the weather warms up and cause havoc in your garden.

Feed the soil with a nutritionally balanced fertiliser

Soil has nutrients for plants, but even rich soil can run out over time. Plants take in nutrients from the soil, so they need a balanced fertilizer to replace them. There are 3 key elements within a fertiliser that help your plants, which is referred to as an NPK. Each fertiliser has different levels of NPK in them, each with a different focus point. The elements within an NPK are:

Nitrogen: for promoting healthy green foliage
Phosphorus: for developing a strong, healthy root system
Potassium: for abundant crops & flowers with increased hardiness and resistance to disease

Choose from a variety of fertilisers like Phostrogen® and Maxicrop® to get the best results from your spring gardening. By doing this, you will produce humus, a valuable substance packed with nutrients that will enhance your soil and plants.