Mastering Soil Preparation for Gardening Success

Unlock the potential of your garden's soil and banish weeds to the sidelines! We're plunging hands-first into the world of soil preparation, sharing not just the 'how' but the 'why' behind curating the perfect seed bed. Discover the importance of a friable foundation for your plants to prosper, and learn the art of adjusting pH levels and enhancing drainage with rich organic matter. From ensuring your soil is packed with the right nutrients for your greenery to addressing the common challenges of different soil types, this episode has got your back.

But wait, there's more than just dirt under our fingernails! We take the fight to the weeds, dissecting strategies for keeping your garden sanctuaries clear of unwanted guests. Embrace weeding as more than a chore—it's a rite of passage for every green thumb. Plus, your gardening curiosities fuel our passion; we're here to tackle your questions and foster a thriving community of earth enthusiasts. Join us as we cultivate knowledge and witness your garden flourish beyond what you thought possible.

'How I Grow' is produced by The Seed Collection Pty Ltd.
Find out more about us here: www.theseedcollection.com.au

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to episode one of how I Grow with
the Seed Collection.
In this episode, we'll bestarting with the basics and
talking about soil preparationfor sowing and planting your
seeds.
Preparing your soil for sowingand planting One of the key
things to remember here is thatgreat soil is at the heart of

(00:20):
successful gardening.
It gives your plants thefoundation they need for strong
and healthy growth.
When sowing seeds, awell-prepared soil, which is
often referred to as a seed bed,is essential to ensuring
successful germination.
Now, everyone's soil qualityvaries, but there are some
common factors that should be apart of every soil preparation

(00:41):
routine.
The good news the basics arereally easy.
So why is soil preparation soimportant?
Seeds need just the right amountof moisture in order to
germinate.
To access water from the soil,seeds need to be in direct
contact with it.
This means the soil's texturemust be fine and loose.
Soil like this is oftenreferred to as friable.

(01:03):
Friable soil can be dug easilyso that seeds can be planted at
the correct depth, holdsmoisture without drying out or
becoming waterlogged, and isloose enough for a seed's first
delicate roots and shoots tomake their way through it
completely unimpeded.
Once seeds have germinated, thesoil stores most of the
nutrients a plant needs to grow.
If those nutrients are missingor locked up by the soil's

(01:27):
chemistry, no plant can thrive.
The soil also needs to have theright texture to allow
unobstructed root growth,alongside the stability to
anchor plants in place, whilebalancing drainage and water
retention to provide steadywater supply.
Even if the soil is in greatcondition, if it's overrun with
weeds, your prized plants willneed to compete for resources,

(01:48):
slowing down or even smotheringtheir growth.
For all these reasons, it'svital to prepare the soil
properly, a week or two beforesowing the seeds or
transplanting seedlings.
So how do you prepare soil forsowing and planting?
Well, firstly, you have to dealwith the weeds.
You should never sow seeds intosoil that's already hosting
visible weeds.
Use a hoe or other weeding tool, or even your bare hands, to

(02:12):
uproot all the weeds you can seeand remove the remnants to
prevent them from taking holdagain.
Many perennial weeds canreshoot from their roots, so
remove as much as their rootsystem as possible.
Secondly is soil texture.
Dig over the soil to loosen itstexture and make it easier for
young plants' roots to grow.

(02:33):
Aim to achieve light, loose,friable soil with no large lumps
or compacted patches.
This stage is the idealopportunity to remove stones,
roots and any other debris thatcould hinder growth.
The amount of necessary diggingwill depend on what you're
growing.
Seeds need very finely texturedsoil, for the top few
centimetres at least.
For root crops, the soil shouldbe fine and obstruction free to

(02:58):
at least the depth of a spade'sblade.
This will allow the roots togrow straight.
The next thing you'll need to dois check the soil pH levels Now
.
Most garden plants prefermoderately acidic soil, although
some prefer a little alkalinity.
It's easy to test the soil'sacid levels using a pH kit, and
if it's not too far out of rangefor your plant crops, you can

(03:19):
adjust it by adding lime foroverly acidic soils or iron
sulfate for ones with highalkalinity.
You'll also need to checkdrainage.
Soil should hold water wellwithout becoming instantly
waterlogged.
So at this stage, give the baresoil a light watering and see
how well the moisture isabsorbed.
If the water pools a little onthe surface, add some blood and

(03:40):
bone or another kind of organicmatter to help improve drainage.
The heavy clay soils withserious waterlogging, adding
gypsum can help in the longerterm, but be sure you also add
plenty of organic matter likecompost to help break up the
clay.
Then you've got the otherextreme where, if extremely
sandy soils, let the water drainstraight through without any

(04:00):
retention.
Mix in some organic matter tohelp balance the texture.
Next, you'll need to check thenutrient levels.
If you haven't needed to addorganic matter so far, now's the
time to do so to ensure yournutrient levels are high enough.
It's important to check whichmaterials are best for the crops
that you're growing.
For example, aged animal manureadds plenty of nutrients to the

(04:23):
soil.
This is great for hungry plantslike brassicas and tomatoes,
but may encourage growth ofleaves rather than roots for
things like beetroots, carrotand root crops.
In most cases, a well-roundedhomemade compost will be ideal.
If you have no compostavailable, commercial fertilizer
targeted for your plants willgive them a really good head
start.

(04:43):
Mix and level off the soil.
Lastly, give the soil a finalforking over to ensure your
additions are thoroughly mixedin, and then level off the
surface with your hands or arake.
In an ideal world, soilpreparation would be done a
couple of weeks before planting.
This gives the soil time tosettle in and allows animal
manures and fertilizers to age alittle so they don't burn your

(05:05):
plants.
It's also enough time for manyweed seeds that may have been
present in the soil to germinate, so they can be removed again
before planting.
Realistically, many gardenersprep their soil directly before
seeds are sown, and if this isthe case for you, don't go
overboard with fertilizers andmonitor the soil for weeds for a
few weeks after planting.

(05:26):
Don't forget you'll also needongoing protection.
So preparing the soil beforesowing or planting is vital, but
your soil improvement effortsshouldn't end there.
Most soil deteriorates overtime, especially in veggie
gardens, where nutrients areremoved with every harvest.
Because of this, a full soilpreparation routine should be

(05:47):
carried out each spring orbefore successive plantings.
There are also some year-roundactivities to bear in mind,
things like keeping on top ofwatering, even if it's on bare
earth, to ensure the soildoesn't dry out and become
hydrophobic.
Hydrophobic soil will havewater just run directly off it.
It won't absorb anything at all.
Try and avoid walking on thesoil wherever possible to

(06:09):
prevent compaction.
Use an organic mulch aroundplants during the growing season
.
This will help to suppressweeds and maintain moisture.
Continue to add fresh compost,worm castings or well-roaded
manure every now and then.
This will help continuallyrefresh the soil's quality, and
you can use things like greenmanure between plantings.
Again, it'll suppress weedswhile also preventing erosion

(06:32):
and replenishing nutrients.
So, although it's not one ofthe most glamorous aspects of
gardening, the process is reallyessential.
You don't want all your otherplanting, watering, weeding and
feeding work to go to waste.
You want that fully rewarded.
Make this a habit before sowingseeds or transplanting
seedlings, to give your plantsthe basis they need to thrive.

(07:01):
Next, I'd like to go throughsome of the more common
questions and challenges we hearabout from our customers.
Firstly, is too much loveversus not enough love, and I'll
give you some examples of these.
Not enough love is optimistic.
I'll say that much.
You might have a lawn that'sthriving and the grass is lush
and thick, but that doesn'tnecessarily mean that your

(07:24):
plants will thrive there too.
Simply removing a patch ofgrass and planting your seeds
directly in the lawn might notbe the best port of call.
Your seeds will have to competeheavily with the grass there,
and it's unlikely that they'llwin.
They're also more likely to betrampled, forgotten about or
neglected.
On the other end of this scale,we have too much love.

(07:46):
Yes, you can kill your plantswith kindness.
Too much fertilizer canactually damage and burn your
plants.
It can even kill them.
So soil preparation isimportant, but try and remember
too much can tip the scales.
I've also been asked beforeabout compost.
Why can't we put our compostdirectly onto the garden?

(08:10):
Well, compost that isn't agedcan introduce a lot of different
pathogens and nasties to yourgarden.
It's also highly acidic and islikely to contain seeds that you
don't want to introduce to yourgarden.
Those seeds will compete withyour seedlings and your plants.
And while we're talking aboutcompeting with the plants, let's
move on to weeds.

(08:31):
I've had gardeners ask me inthe past.
I've followed all of yourinstructions on preparing the
soil, I've planted my seeds, butwhy have weeds still grown?
Well, the answer varies.
Weeds can be blown in from thewind, carried in by birds, or
resting dormant in the soil justwaiting for the right

(08:51):
conditions.
We recommend waiting a week ortwo after weeding before
planting.
This allows you to observe thegarden and remove any weeds that
have sprouted up sincecompleting your soil preparation
.
Once you've planted your seedsand they're growing well into
seedlings don't forget, weedingis a constant task You'll need

(09:12):
to keep check on them and makesure that they're not having to
compete with these weeds.
It's not the most thrillingaspect of gardening, but it can
be quite therapeutic.
Well, I hope that's helpedeveryone out there getting their
hands dirty in the garden.
If you have any questions aboutsoil preparation or any other
gardening topic you'd likeanswered, please visit

(09:32):
wwwtheseedcollectioncomauforward slash podcast.
We'd love to hear from you, soplease don't be shy.
That address again iswwwtheseedcollectioncomau

(09:53):
forward slash podcast.
You've been listening to how IGrow, produced by the seed
collection in Knoxfield,victoria.
It's our aim to make gardeningmore accessible to more people,
and this podcast is just anotherway that we're doing that.
If you don't know who we are,jump online and check us out.
Just google the seed collection.

(10:13):
You'll find a treasure trove ofgardening info, as well as a
huge range of seeds andgardening accessories.
Thanks for listening.