How to Choose the Right Garden Soil

Some people may remark that garden soil can be just anything that would help any type of plant life to grow. However, if you are serious about what you are growing, you have to pay this important factor more attention. One of the most important things that will determine whether the garden soil that you are choosing would work best for you plants would be the pH level.

The pH level of the garden soil that you will use will measure how much your plants will flourish, unattended or not. You have to know that basic soil will have pH levels that will measure from 5 pH, which is acidic, to 8 pH, which is alkaline high. The most plants will work best with a pH of 7, which will allow for best absorption of nutrients from the soil.

The best way to measure the pH of the garden soil that you will use is to get a soil test kit. This will be available from any home improvement store, as well as specialty stores that cater to green thumbs old and new. It will allow for an easier way for you to measure the pH level. It also lets you research further on the plants that you plan to grow, which pH level they can grow best on, and how to maintain them on the garden soil of a certain pH level.

You can also check on the samples of soil that you will gather to see whether they can prove fit for your plants. There is plenty to choose from, but the most basic ones are sand, loam, and clay. While sand will offer much in terms of water retention, clay will possibly work on doing it better. The disadvantages of the two would mostly deal with water, as sand will need frequent watering and clay can pose to suffocate plants because of its thick composition.

Loam is often the best garden soil recommended for any use. Because it balances sand, clay, and other ground compositions, you will find that it can lead to easier nourishment of your plants. It will also retain water well, and will even allow for the easier breathing of your plants. As good garden soil, it will also prove to be less susceptible to erosion, as well as pests that often linger underground to destroy plants.

The most common mistakes made is to drawing out the rose garden plan on paper and never think over the actual place of the rose garden. Therefore, I might suggest that

Step 1 is to sit in your favorite spot on your deck and look around. Where do your eyes need to see your rose garden?

Step 2 is to determine if that area will get enough sun. Roses require full sunshine (or near 100 % sunshine). A balance in between spot and full sunshine will need to be arranged.

Step 3 is to prepare the potting soil. Humus and garden compost will greatly boost the quality of your soil. Add a bushel of humus per 12 square feet and a half-bushel of garden compost per 12 square feet. If you make a 16 sq . ft . rose bed (as in the above example of a 4×4 or 2×8 foot bed) you’ll be able to increase the humus by a third and the fertilizer by a third.

Once, you’ve found the perfect spot. So now you must decide how big the rose garden shall be. A typical mistake to avoid is building the bed too long or too wide. The right measure to use is whether you are able to reach the roses to care for them or pick them without walking in the bed.

It’s not that simple. You also need to take into consideration the dimensions of the rose bush. E . g ., hybrid teas and floribundas need around 4 sq . ft . per bush. Which means that each bush requires a space that is a couple of feet wide on either side. If you make your rose bed 4 feet wide and 4 feet long, you can have 4 rose bushes there and then tend to each one with no stepping in the bed. On the other hand you could have it 2 feet wide by 8 feet long.

Verify the measurement that your selected roses are expected to grow and prepare your rose bed the appropriate size to accommodate the size of the bushes you are planting.

That’s all you may have to do to have a beautiful rose bed: choose a location, make sure it is sunny, don’t crowd the roses, and feed the soil before planting.

For a small fee, you can often have a sample of your soil analyzed by your local county extension office but buying a simple soil analysis kit from your local garden center and purchasing flower food is the most convenient method of testing. Undoubtedly giving you the results you hoped for is this method because it’s very effective but it will take some extra time and effort.

Choosing a multi-purpose and balanced fertilizer that contains a full spectrum of plant nutrients is the second and most convenient manner of feeding your flowers. All-purpose flower food come in many brands. Considered as one of the more popular brands out there is Miracle Gro. In most cases, any brand of flower food will be just as effective if properly used although most professional gardeners will attest to the effectiveness of Miracle Gro. The fertilizer should be used according to the directions on the package no matter the brand that you chose. More doesn’t necessarily mean better when it comes to fertilizers. If you over-feed your plants you could cause damage to the roots or even kill the plant completely.

If given an excess of nitrogen, there are flowering plants that will grow excess leaves rather than flowers. Choosing a fertilizer that’s especially formulated for flowers is what you can do to avoid this problem. This problem will be solved with any type of bloom-booster flower food. You can avoid any mistakes when you mix the fertilizer exactly as specified on the package or buy ready-to-use flower food and this is what you need to do when you feed your flowers. Remember, you need to avoid placing the flower food directly on the leaves or on the flowering parts of the plant.

Designed to feed the soil surrounding the plants are fertilizers. By getting the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowers, you could cause severe damage to the plants. There are some types of flower food that will not harm leaves or flowers, but make sure you read the directions carefully so that you will know the effects of getting the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowering part of the plant.

If over applied, chemical fertilizer may lead to surface runoff and this is easier to do than with natural products. Besides being dangerous to wildlife, it’s also possible that this can lead to problems with growing. Unlike chemical products the release rates of natural fertilizers are a lot less but it is also possible to over apply them.

Depending on the fertilizer, various storage requirements must be met. Carefully studying the ingredients and storage instructions on the fertilizer packaging is a good idea if they are commercially purchased. Knowledge of the nutrient content and requirements will help to maintain a healthy crop, usable fertilizer and less pollution to the garden.

In gardening, fertilizer is commonly used but it’s also used for growing plants and flowers. At most home improvement stores or in gardening department at most retailers is where you can usually find commercial fertilizer. In the winter months, plants and gardens are not abundant which is why as planting becomes seasonal before spring, most fertilizer products are sold. If planting is done too early, a late frost may eliminate the crops and will ultimately be a waste of planting and fertilizer. In the early spring, the weather is ideal for planting so the fertilizer will be widely available in stores.

The different crop planting seasons will be provided by geographical locations as well as various climates. Gardening may be restricted to mainly spring and summer months in other parts of the world but in some areas, they have success with gardening during most of the year. It is important to know the optimal growing season for each individual location because extreme cold and inclement weather will cause havoc on crops.

When purchasing fertilizer, it is recommended that individuals thoroughly read the care and usage instructions. Warning labels and caution should first be carefully read before you proceed with use. Make sure that these products are kept out of children’s reach and they can also be harmful for animals.

ROOT SPACE is KEY

Vertical gardens typically have more restricted root space than those in the ground so find a system that has plenty of root space for your vegetables and you’ll be off to a great start. If you have ever grown vegetables in pots, you will know how important it is to keep the soil (potting media) temperatures and moisture levels as even as possible. Plants that become heat or water stressed quickly lose vigour; leafy vegetables often ‘bolt’ to seed in these conditions, resulting in very poor production.

TRIPLE YOUR EXISTING GROWING SPACE

So… a great solution for space restricted gardeners is to ditch the pots and use a soil based, vertical garden system. Growing a substantial produce garden using pots takes up a lot of floor space. Vertical garden systems actually CREATE gardening space, you can triple the square metreage of your area by going vertical and reap an abundant harvest!

NO POTS – NO TRAYS!

The soil volumes in the steel vertical systems are huge compared to pots and many other vertical gardening systems. In this vertical gardening system, plant roots can travel around in over half a cubic metre of soil media volume. This large volume of soil helps tremendously with maintaining even temperatures and moisture levels – saving you time and water when compared to other vertical gardening systems and other planters.

LOOKING GOOD

Your vegetables will thrive in this vertical garden system but importantly, they also look sensational. Your vertical garden will become a feature in any space – a living wall of green that beautifies and also feeds the whole family! Aesthetics are so important in restricted areas but everyone deserves fresh salad on hand!

FEEDING TIPS

Due to the large body of soil media in the open tiered, steel vertical gardening system, plants are able to draw from a large supply of nutrients. Regular feeding with traditional liquid fertilisers from a watering can and some slow release fertiliser a few times a year is all that is required.

NO MOVING PARTS

Many vertical gardening systems are based on hydroponic methods of growing where the plants are anchored to a matting or foam and have further systems that control watering and fertiliser solution applications; however the open tiered, steel vertical gardening system is based on a traditional, low-tech gardening experience. This vertical garden is filled with soil media (potting mix) from top to bottom and essentially you just plant your favourite vegetable seeds or seedlings into the exposed tiers of potting media with your trowel and water them in. You can simply hand water your vertical garden with harvested rain or mains water with any method you like, watering can, hose or automated dripper system.

YEAR IN YEAR OUT

Once your vegetables have had their season, simply remove them and plant your vertical garden with your new favourites. Why stop at vegetables though, strawberries and herbs do incredibly well too! Don’t miss the next article in this series, “Vertical Gardening with Herbs.”

Humus is the stable decomposed remains of plant tissue. It is a product of composted vegetable matter. The cellulose in humus acts like a sponge and holds moisture in the garden soil, available for growing plants, creating better drought tolerance. It has a water-holding capacity of up to five times its own weight.

It helps prevent water-soluble nutrients from being leached from the soil via watering or rainfall by binding itself to the nutrients, but at the same time making them available to plant roots.
It helps bring about a loose, crumbly structure in heavy clay soils, while allowing free drainage during excessive rain; and provides cohesion in sandy soils.

So you see that humus is really the best way to overcome whatever problems you may have with your soil. Humus is also necessary to maintain healthy levels of essential soil organisms, fungi, bacteria and earthworms.

Sandy soils

Sandy soil has large, freely draining particles. Any nutrients present are leached by watering and/or rainfall.

You need to apply to the surface or dig in large amounts of humus to retain water and provide nutrients. All organic matter breaks down over time, so sandy soils will benefit from a large amount of compost, which will need replacing regularly. Always mulch well to reduce evaporation. A 20cm (4 inch) layer of mulch can reduce evaporation by up to 70%.

Sandy soils can become non-wetting soils, where any amount of irrigation will just run across the surface. If your soil is like this, you will need to add copious amounts of organic matter to correct this problem.

Clay soils

Clay soils are made up of tiny particles. It will hold water well, but the spaces between the soil particles are so small, there’s neither room for air, or space for water to escape. Clay soils tend to become boggy in wet weather, and dry out and crack in hot, dry weather. Clay soils often have high reserves of mineral elements, but roots are unable to mine them from the clay.

Gypsum is a well known clay breaker. Dig it into the soil for good effect. The clay will become friable and can then be made more workable by incorporating river sand and organic matter. You may want to construct raised beds to increase drainage.

Test Your Soil

Most soils are somewhere between the two extreme soil conditions above. A very simple, but effective way to test your soil is to use a glass jar. Add a handful of your soil, fill it with water and shake vigorously. Let it stand for a few hours until all the suspended materials have settled. You will see quite distinct layers. Course sand will be the lowest layer, then finer sands, silts, clays and lastly organic matter.

A good garden loam will have approximate equal proportions of clay, sands and silt, with a good percentage of humus or organic matter.

Soil pH

The acidity or alkalinity of your soil is also an important consideration. Most vegetables need a neutral to slightly acidic soil, with a pH of about 6.5. If your soil pH isn’t right, then some nutrients will be unavailable to your plants.

You can buy a pH testing kit at your local nursery – they are very easy to use.

The really great news is that no matter what kind of soil you are starting with, the continued addition of humus and other organic materials will correct nearly ever problem kind of soil. Even your pH levels will balance out over time.

A gardener. One who knows that good manure and compost can be the difference between a lush garden and a sparse, struggling one. And lets not forget the aroma, a gardener will describe the smell of compost or manure, as “sweet”, or “rich”, the average person, with no interest in gardening, is more likely to use the word “disgusting”.

An experienced gardener knows that compost and manure are the life-blood of a garden. It is the primary way to enrich your soil naturally, and provide all the nutrients your plants will need to grow healthy and strong. The addition of compost and manure can transform even the worst soil into black gold, given enough time.

Composting is a natural biological process where bacteria, fungi and other organisms decompose organic materials such as leaves, grass clippings, and food wastes. The resulting product is called compost. Although composting occurs naturally, the process can be accelerated and improved by human intervention.

Where do you start?

In this article the focus will be on composting. If you are new to gardening, knowing how to start and build a good compost bin may seem a little complex, you may ask, “How do I build a compost bin” or “What can I put in my compost bin”. Overall, making compost is relatively simple.

We will focus on compost bins and tumblers. Tumblers are excellent alternatives for gardeners living in the city who may not have room for a compost bin, or where city bylaws prohibit open compost bins. Putting kitchen scraps in the compost bin versus the garbage can have the added benefit of reducing foul odors. You will also have the peace of mind knowing you are contributing less garbage to the local landfill.

It is best to have two compost bins, one for fresh compost additives, and the other for use in your garden each season. Using two compost bins ensures you will always have good compost at the start of each gardening season. If you prefer to use tumblers, the same principal applies. One is in development, the other is ready to use.

There are two ways of composting, “Passive” and “Managed”.

Passive composting

This is really very basic. You have a compost bin; you throw in all the various kitchen scraps, yard waste and so on. Once in a while, you mix it up; weather, bacteria, fungi and time do the rest. Hopefully, each year, you will have useable compost. Often referred to as “The Lazy Gardener’s Compost”.

Managed composting

This requires more time and attention than passive composting, but the resulting compost will be ready sooner, and better quality. A managed compost pile is often referred to as hot compost since the pile heats up as it decomposes, thus speeding up the process.

A managed compost bin can be ready in just 6 weeks, however, unless you are using tumblers, in most cases useable compost will probably take 2 to 3 months. Chopping or shredding leaves and other materials will speed up the process drastically.

Most of the organisms that decompose organic matter in a compost bin are aerobic – this means they need air to survive, so air circulation is important. This can be done by mixing (turning the top and sides of the pile into the center) the pile up every 3 or 4 days, or when the compost begins to feel cool. Building a bin with slats allows air to enter the pile from the sides. Using both methods is best.

How fast you produce finished compost will be determined by what you add to your compost, if you chop it up and how you mix them together. Layering is a common technique, but in most cases, redundant if you hand mix the pile.

The temperature of your compost pile is critical – If it is warm or hot, everything is good. If it feels luke warm, decomposition has slowed down and you need to add more materials such as grass clippings, leaves or kitchen waste. If you prefer to be very precise with the management of your compost, a compost thermometer can be used see how well your compost is doing. They are not expensive and readily available. If you can’t buy locally, you will easily find them online.

Keeping your compost pile moist is important. Too dry, and the pile will not decompose as quickly. A compost pile should be moist, but not wet – add water or dry matter as required to maintain this balance. To much water will reduce air in the compost thus slowing down the decay process. A good sign of healthy compost is worms. Worms don’t like it too cold, too hot, too wet or too dry – they can be used to monitor the condition of your compost.

A new compost pile will begin to heat up within a few days as the microorganisms thrive and your pile begins to decompose. Ideally, your pile should heat to about 140-160 degrees to kill weed seeds and diseases that may be present in garden plants.

Building a compost bin

A compost bin can be made from almost any scrap lumber. It does not need to be pretty; it simply has to hold all the different household and yard waste you will be adding to it. See the image to your right; this is typical of a compost bin.

A good design will be at least 3′ x 3′ x 3′. This will provide enough mass to generate optimal temperatures. A bin should incorporate removable front panels, usually in the form of boards, which can be removed one at a time. This is important since the weight of mature compost against a single large panel may make it impossible to open. If you want to get fancy, you can add a gate on the front.

There are many ways to build a compost bin, the details of which are too lengthy for this article. However, a simple search on Google using the term “How to build a compost bin” will provide numerous links to websites offering you many ways to go about building a compost bin.

Compost bins need to be turned by hand (mixed) to help with the decomposing process and help recently added scraps decompose quicker. Mixing helps improve overall quality of your compost.

Compost tumblers

You have probably seen these on Internet or at your local garden shop. Basically, they are a round tub, mounted on a frame, or base, designed to turn compost and speed development. Many will also collect compost tea (excess nutrient rich moisture that seeps into the base of the tumbler).

Compost tumblers are perfect if space is limited, or city bylaws do not permit open compost bins. They are also ideal if you have a small garden and do not need a large bin. These bins work by rotating the bin every few days, which can speed up compost development by as much a 3 times. The rotation helps to mix compost evenly and create very good compost.

Pictured is a compost tumbler called the “Envirocycle Composter” which retails at $130 to $160 US.

What can you put in your compost?

• Grass Clippings (thin layers 1 – 2 inches)
• Leaves and yard waste
• Flowers
• Dead plants from end of season garden
• Weeds without seed heads
• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags
• Egg shells
• Citrus fruits (cut up)
• Pure wool jumpers and socks (cut up)
• Pure cotton articles (cut up)
• Blood and bone (with no meat)
• Shredded newspaper
• Small amounts of wood ash

Do not add the following to your compost!

• Any Type Of Plastic
• Foam
• Metal
• Weeds with seeds (personal recommendation)
• Bulbous weeds
• Weeds with runners
• Pet Droppings
• Dead Vertebrate Animals
• Uncooked Meats
• Cooked Meats
• Diary Products (Except Egg Shells)
• Pig manure (questionable parasites and bacteria)
• Big woody twigs
• Evergreen needles (unless you want an acidic compost)

Troubleshooting

Composting is generally not a problem and easy to do. However, sometimes things don’t progress as expected and this can usually be attributed to a few common problems. Here are the most common problems and solutions:

• Bad odor There is not enough air, or your pile is too wet. Mix the pile, or add dry materials to the pile.
• Not decomposing Pile may be to dry or wet. If dry, mix the pile and moisten as you turn the compost. If wet, mix the pile and add more dry material.
• Compost feels right, but not heating up Lack of nitrogen – add items like grass clippings, manure, and other greens
• Animals attracted to the compost Are you adding meat or milk products to the pile. Avoid scraps likely to attract animals.

Compost is the best natural fertilizer for your garden. In most cases, it contains all the nutrients your plants will need. Compost made with a wide variety of materials, including manure (recommended) is the best.

Compost is the best natural material to enrich and build soil. If you want black gold, you need compost. Experienced gardeners know that healthy soil, rich in organic matter, will grow healthier plants that naturally resist disease, insects, and adverse weather. Now, I ask, what more could a gardener ask for.

There are a number of advantages that make water gardens better than their soil counterparts. The first, and perhaps most obvious of these, is that no soil is actually required to grow your plants! When you consider the inconvenience of acquiring and transporting large quantities of soil, you will find yourself appreciating this aspect of a water garden very quickly.

Two very important factors should also be considered: firstly, a water garden’s lack of soil means that diseases normally contained within the soil itself are theoretically eliminated; secondly, and on a larger scale, there will be no weeds and less insects present to inhibit the growth of your plants. These two things will lead to better results and, in turn, a better overall garden.

Given both of these truths, you’ll require fewer pesticides and herbicides to grow healthy plants. Should you intend to grow flowers or propagate your plants, the lack of chemicals and soil contaminants will keep you and your family feeling safe and happy about the beauty and longevity of the flowers and plants that you grow.

Despite the fact that it’s a water garden, the actual consumption of water will be less than with a soil garden. You’ll have no need to keep a sprinkler or hose trained on your plants, which will save you money in the long run – not to mention that you’ll also be less reliant on rain to keep your water bill low at the end of the month.

A water garden allows you to better monitor the growth of plant roots as well, which is virtually impossible in a soil environment. Should you desire to transport your plants from one location to another, those you grow using hydroponics will stay alive so long as they are kept in that condition. Plants you grow in a soil garden are effectively killed as soon as you pull them up.

In addition, you have the advantage of better space usage. Should you desire to grow a large quantity of plants for any reason, you will be better able to do so with a water garden – you can easily stack trays and containers on shelves or hang them in the air, thus freeing up area to grow more.

All of these advantages are enough to make a water garden a better choice than a traditional soil garden. To grow better plants with fewer resources is a worthy goal, as is having beautiful flowers and plants for you and your family to enjoy.

The first thing to consider is where the plants will grow.

If you have a plot of land and garden, that is a good start. Remember, you can also grow in containers with excellent results.
If you don’t have any land, try going to a fruit store and pick up Polystyrene boxes that carry fruit.
With holes in the bottom for drainage and filled with soil, these can provide anyone with a cheap and simple garden.

OK, so you have you plot or container and have removed the weeds from it and dug the soil so that it is broken up enough to plant in. What then?

You need to look closely at the soil. The 3 basic types of soil are:

Sandy soil

Clay.

Sandy soil, when you hold it in your hand and make a cylinder shape, will generally fall apart immediately. It has a grainy feel and you will notice larger type granules.
This soil warms up quickly but can loose moisture very fast.
A great tip for this soil type is add some Peat to it. You will find this at your gardening store and it is very economical. Peat will add to the soils water retention and provide more organic matter for the plants.
Also remember, sandy soil can be very acidic so it is recommended that Lime be added to the soil.
Lime is also available at your garden centre and will have instructions on it.

Silty or loam soil, when made into a cylinder shape in your hands will hold it’s shape for a short time and then crumble. This is a good soil type to have as it will drain fairly well, yet hold more moisture than sand.

Lastly, Clay type soils will hold their shape when formed into a cylinder in your hands for a long time.
These soils will need to be broken up very well and some form of organic matter added. This may be peat, compost or another type of soil. If something is not added, clay will compact after planting and watering. You will find it hard to water and the plants will be starved of air that they need to grow.

If you are having trouble with the soil type, simply ask a gardener near you, or your local nursery.

Now that you’ve discovered the type of soil you have, in order to get it ready for planting there are 3 things to do;

1. Break up the Soil.
Make sure it is dug up well with all the weeds removed. A fork is best for this job, but you may have to use your hands to break up clods.

2. Lime
. After some time, all soils become more acidic. If you are using a garden that has had plants before, it will almost certainly need a good amount of lime.
This also applies to new soil, especially those you have added peat to.
Lime creates a more hospitable soil condition for worms, less hospitable for certain fungi & bacteria and it allows organic matter to break down allowing the plants more nutrients.

3. Fertiliser.
While this one is not essential, you will end up with a far nicer crop than if you don’t apply it.
You can apply anything from animal manure (chicken manure is excellent) that can be free or very cheap, to Blood and Bone or multi purpose fertiliser.
Blood and Bone can be bought at any nursery or hardware store and adds much needed nutrients to the plants for an economical cost.
Nitrogen or multi-purpose fertiliser can be a little more expensive, but will be very beneficial.

The first 2 things really are necessary for a nice crop, the third can make your plants exceptional.

So to recap, for a good start to your garden;

- Find out the type of soil you have

- Break up and weed the soil ready for the plants

- Condition the soil according to the type you have

- Add fertiliser and mix this in very well.

You may also want to wait a day or two before planting in your newly conditioned soil, to prevent root burn on seedlings from the lime.

The next article in this series will discuss what to grow for your area and needs.

Happy gardening,

Rachel Annarve.

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Here are eight steps to get your soil ready for planting.

1. Decide how big your lawn will be

This is the first step and is very important, as many aspects of lawn care require this information. Get a measuring tape and calculate the size of your new lawn.

2. Do a soil test

Send a soil sample to a soil test lab for testing. The result is much more accurate. Basically, you need to know the soil composition and its pH level, which range from 1 to 14. The pH level measure how acidic or alkaline your soil is and for most soil, a pH level of 6.5 to 7.0 is considered ideal and balanced.

3. Adjusting your soil pH

Most of the time, your new soil pH is likely to be off balance. If the test result showed that it is more acidic, you can add limestone to reduce the acidity. On the other hand, if it is too alkaline, you can add sulfur to bring the soil back into balance.

4. Improve your soil texture

If your soil is too sandy, it will not be able to retain water very well. On the other hand, clay soil will be able to retain water very well but due to poor aeration, the water takes a very long time to reach the root level. The ideal soil type is loamy which provide good aeration and water retention capacity. You can add organic matters such as compost to change the texture of your soil. Organic matters can help to loosen and aerate clay soil. They can also help to improve the water holding capacity of sandy soil.

5. Add starter fertilizer

A starter fertilizer is one that you have to work into the soil before planting. It is usually higher in phosphorous than nitrogen and will help the root system to be established in the soil. Adding more phosphorous at this stage is appropriate as phosphorous does not move into the soil with water easily. However, if your soil test indicate that there is already enough phosphorous in the soil, you can switch to another fertilizer with a higher nitrogen concentration.

6. Dig them into the soil

Once you spread the organic matters, the lime or sulfur and starter fertilizer, you will have to use a rototiller to dig all these stuffs into the top four to six inches of the soil. Dig in a crisscross pattern, which ensure that all the materials will be well incorporated into the soil. This digging pattern also breaks up soil clods and big clumps so that your soil is smooth and well aerated.

7. Level the soil

You can use a rake to make your soil smooth and even. You want to get the soil to the right level for sowing seeds or laying sod. If you intend to sow seeds, the soil should be on the same level as your surrounding walk paths or edging. If you are taking the sod route, ensure that the soil level is about 1 inch lower to accommodate the sod thickness.

Pull the rake in a back and forth fashion over a designated area until the soil looks smooth. Then flip the rake over and try to make the soil smoother. As you rake, move backward so that you do not leave your footprint on the new soil.

8. Let the weeds grow first

There may be weed seeds in your new soil now. Water the new soil and let the weeds grow first. Once the weeds appear, uproot them so that they will dry out and die. You may have to do these a couple of time but this process will greatly reduce the number of weeds growing in your lawn in the future.

All new lawns begin with healthy soil. Apply and refine these eight steps to get your new soil ready for planting and you will have a green and lush lawn in the very near future.