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PREPARING THE
GLADYS JEURINK
About 40 years
ago Tim and I bought our house and an extra lot in a new section of
The extra lot
was different as all the left over materials from the first house built
in the Neighborhood were buried out there. Broken tiles, pieces of
linoleum and boards don’t provide much food for shrubs and other plants.
One corner must have been a dump for a restaurant as I unearthed
two bushels of steak t-bones.
When you start to build a new garden or lawn be sure and check
you entire area for such things!! The best way to grow flowers, a good
crop of vegetables, shrubs, or grass is to improve your soil first.
Before you plant, get acquainted with your soil and what is below
the surface.
In general good
growing soil is about 50% soil particles and organic matter, 25% air
pockets, and 25% water pores.
Clay soil is good but it has smaller particles which leave less
room for air and water, both of which are necessary for roots to grow.
Compost, which is organic matter, enters in here to create spaces
and soak up water that would run off clay soil.
In preparing
your garden you need to know the pH of your soil.
Also you need to learn which of your plants likes acid soil and
which alkaline soil. The
soil in
Drainage is
also very important to know before you plant.
Many plants cannot stand to have their feet wet.
However, there are a number of plants to choose from if you do
have a low spot where water remains for a long time.
Some plants like Siberian or Japanese iris like wet feet in
summer but not in winter. As always, there are plants that prefer a
location that drains well and the soil is dry.
Many of our native plants belong to this group.
It pays to check the background of a plant before you decide to
buy it. Make sure you get
the right plant for the right location!!!
You can check
your drainage. In different parts of your yard dig a hole one foot deep
and one foot across and fill it with water.
Good drainage is about one inch per hour.
In sandy soil the water disappears almost at once.
In clay soil it may take much longer.
In either case adding compost or organic matter will help correct
the problem.
Many people
think they can add sand to their clay and make it better but remember,
the formula for cement is clay and sand.
In preparing my garden I did have sand brought in many years ago.
12 tons of sand, and large amounts of compost was tilled in, and
only in a small part of the yard that had very heavy clay.
In a flower
garden or vegetable garden a raised bed is also good way to improve the
soil and drainage. You can
make your own perfect soil in the lawn or raised bed by adding what your
regular soil needs. My
recipe for perfect soil is 1/3 clay, 1/3 sand, and 1/3 compost.
Mix it well, let it settle over the winter, and enjoy the good
planting next spring. You can start this fall to improve your soil by
adding compost or other organic matter from your fall cleanup.
Dig or till it in as deep as you can go.
Double digging as often as possible makes for a good seed and
growing bed.
At the Garden
Center or wherever you buy your seeds or plants, make sure you find out
what kind of soil the plant likes, how much water it needs,
and if it likes full sun, partial sun, partial shade or full
shade.
My garden is so
closely planted I can no longer dig anything in so I use my compost as
mulch. The earthworms dig it
in. For more information on composting visit or call your local County
Extension Office and ask for
information on “Garden Composting”. NebGuides are also available on the
internet and can be printed free or downloaded and saved. Go to
ianrhome.unl.edu/search and type in the name of the plant or the
subject or the number of the publication.
Recommended is
NebGuide G1855-Yard Waste Management. This publication has good
information about composting.
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