An In-Depth Look at Preparing the Soil for Your Garden
If you are going to be taking your herb gardening hobby very seriously, you have to prepare the soil. After all your “paper” preparations have been made (i.e. choosing and studying herbs and deciding on a design), it's time to finally get your hands dirty and begin gardening!
You'll be happy to know that most herbs will grow in almost all garden soils. Unless the soil is extremely acidic or is too much of a particular material (clay, sand or silt), your herbs will do just fine. In fact some herbs can be partial to certain materials, for example some herbs like sandy desert like conditions. In general, loam is the best kind of garden soil there is because it's percentages of clay, sand, and silt are perfect for growing garden plants, as well as herbs and vegetables.
If you are unsure about the soil in your backyard or front lawn, you can have it tested at local gardening centers. The center itself may not test it, but they will know where you can go. They will check for acidity, material, and other elements like potassium and nitrogen. Most centers will also recommend a treatment for you soil, assuming it comes back with less than desirable results. It's pretty rare though since (as previously mentioned) most garden soils in the suburbs are good for gardening.
Another way to check and see if your soil is good for gardening is looking at your neighbor's gardens. If those gardens are doing fine, then yours should be able to grow well too. If some gardens are not doing so well while others are, ask your neighbors for advice on what they did with their garden. They may have some old tricks to getting your soil to cooperate.
There are different ways that you can treat your garden soil. It mostly depends on the problem you encounter. Treating your soil can be expensive, depending on the kind of problem. Keep in mind, however that terrain does change, and you may have good soil on one side of the garden while poor soil on the other. This is pretty rare since most garden soils are generally uniform, but it can happen.
Once your soil is ready, you have to enhance it by adding fertilizer. Many herb gardeners add fertilizer to their herb plants at the beginning of the growing season, and another time in the middle of the growing season. This is to ensure that the plants are getting enough nutrients. If you want to save money, it's a good idea to invest in creating your own fertilizer. Creating your own fertilizer by having your own compost pit assures you that your fertilizer is organic, and it also allows you to recycle! Plus, compost is a great way to treat and strengthen your soil for the long run.
