As you plant, make sure the beds receive at least six hours of sunshine each day and avoid areas susceptible to frost pockets and areas with strong or steady winds.
Edge your beds with wood or bricks; try not to use modern, treated wood which could release chemicals into the soil.
Soil Tests
Soil tests are an essential first step when creating garden beds, helping determine the current pH level and identify any nutrient deficiencies. Most vegetables thrive in slightly acidic soil while certain plants like azaleas and gardenias require higher pH levels. Once complete, you can amend the soil using organic matter and limestone amendments until its ideal pH level for your plants has been achieved.
Before taking a soil sample, any existing vegetation must first be eliminated. This can be accomplished either manually by digging up and pulling out plants or mechanically by using a rototiller to till up sod. For optimal results it is best to do this work when soil conditions are moist but not wet – otherwise working with soggy conditions is difficult and could even result in compaction issues.
Once the existing vegetation has been cleared away, loosen the soil by using a broadfork or digging fork to loosen up the ground and allow new plant roots to expand freely and help with drainage. You may need to rototill several times depending on the size and condition of your beds as well as soil.
Take soil samples from every bed where you intend to plant, using only clean buckets and utensils throughout. Try to collect samples from a uniform area of the garden as this will prevent contamination; take samples within 24 hours after adding lime or fertilizer; this may influence results negatively. Submit all samples directly to a laboratory for testing (sampling boxes and Field and Soil Sample Information forms are available from county offices of Cooperative Extension).
Once the laboratory has conducted their soil test, you will receive a comprehensive report with recommendations. Bar graphs display optimal levels for pH, organic matter and nutrients while numerical results appear underneath each bar graph.
Soil Amendments
Vegetables are high-demanding plants for soil fertility and tend to use up nutrients at an accelerated rate, making managing its conditions an essential task when prepping a garden bed for planting vegetables. To achieve this goal, organic amendments, compost and organic fertilizers can all help replenish depleted nutrients quickly and sustain their health in your garden bed.
Soil amendments enhance physical properties of soil, increase its organic matter content, and provide essential nutrients for plant growth. Organic matter helps aeration, water infiltration, water-holding capacity as well as providing food sources for bacteria, fungi and earthworms – essential elements for healthy soil.
When choosing an organic amendment, look for one with low salt levels and high organic content. Home-made compost or other no-cost or low-cost amendments with an increased carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) is ideal. Any compost or amendment with very high salt contents or high pH values could potentially damage landscape plants planted nearby.
Prep the soil before amending it by cultivating with a garden hoe or rototiller before amending, to break up crust and improve airflow. A soil test will reveal whether lime needs to be applied in order to adjust its pH level – agricultural lime features particle sizes that gradually shift pH, while pelletized lime can quickly change soil pH in an instantaneous fashion but requires annual reapplication.
Remember that soil amendments take time to become fully integrated into the top 6-8 inches of soil, so they should be applied prior to planting trees, shrubs, or perennials. A typical application rate for most amendments is 3 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet of land (87 bushels).
Wood ash, Colorado mountain peat, manure-based composts and biosolids are among the many soil amendments known for being high in salts and pH levels; as these should be avoided when dealing with soils already known to contain excessive levels of salts; also when growing plants that are sensitive to them – such as raspberry, strawberry, carrot, kale or onion plants.
Fertilizers
Vegetables are voracious feeders and rely heavily on nutrients in their soil environment for healthy development. Organic amendments and fertilizers can provide necessary supplements that may be lacking from existing soil sources.
Ideal timing for working these materials into the soil is in late fall or early winter, giving them time to break down over winter and be ready for planting in spring. Incorporating manure or compost at this stage also reduces disease risks that might otherwise come into the planting area when first seedlings are set out.
As well as organic materials, water will also be an indispensable ingredient of gardening success. Water helps wash amendments and fertilizers through the soil while simultaneously watering any young vegetable plants you may have planted in the garden.
Most vegetables need at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily in order to thrive; otherwise they won’t thrive as intended in shaded locations or where water accumulates.
Selecting an ideal location is key when creating a raised bed vegetable garden. Since many vegetables do not tolerate frost, loose, well-draining soil must be selected so as to prevent compaction and promote airflow through your plot.
Raised beds can be constructed out of both wood and metal materials. When selecting lumber for use in raised beds, be sure that it has not been treated with chemicals or creosote; some gardeners fear older railroad ties may leach harmful toxins into the soil; however, studies have demonstrated that leaked creosote amounts are within safe limits for vegetable growing.
Raised beds should be no wider than 4 feet to minimize foot traffic that compacts soil and restricts plant root development. Furthermore, it’s beneficial to line raised beds with polyethylene or non-woven landscaping fabric to stop weeds from creeping in through their sides and ruin the overall aesthetic of the space.
Most vegetables will benefit from adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer such as 10-10-10 to their soil prior to planting, while heavier feeders will need additional applications of liquid or granular organic materials throughout their growing season.
Cover Crops
Cover crops are an indispensable element in prepping garden beds for planting vegetables. These short-lived plants serve several benefits for soil health such as protecting it from precipitation, adding organic matter, and crowding out weeds. Furthermore, cover crop plants help replenish nitrogen in the soil, prevent erosion, aerate the ground more freely, increase microorganisms in the soil, cool it down quicker while relieving stress from vegetable crops.
Your choice of cover crop will depend on what benefit it serves best; for instance, legumes such as clover, alfalfa, crimson clover and hairy vetch are excellent ways of fixing nitrogen deficient soils by working in cooperation with Rhizobium bacteria that live on their roots and extract it into usable form for other plants to use. You could inoculate legumes before sowing with an appropriate inoculant from UCCE farm advisor for faster results in fixing nitrogen fixes.
Grains like wheat, barley and oats are ideal choices because they can withstand colder climates without suffering too much from frost damage, while improving soil texture and drainage. Other good choices include winter ryegrass, annual ryegrass, dutch clover, buckwheat oats field peas clovers brassica species such as daikon radish and turnips to add some nitrogen-rich crops such as grasses such as Teflin or Brome grasses.
Ideal timing for planting cover crops is prior to them blooming; this will prevent them from taking in all the nutrients required for setting seed, and later returning those nutrients back into the soil food web. But you can sow a cover crop any time in order to enhance an existing bed.
Once your cover crop is ready to be turned under, mowing should take place close to the ground before tilling or mixing into the soil using either a shovel or pitch fork – depending on whether you’re working a traditional garden plot or raised beds. Make sure it is dry when working soggy ground can lead to compaction issues.