If you want an easier garden season, February is the time to set the foundation. Two steps do most of the heavy lifting: getting a soil test and prepping beds without damaging soil structure. Done well, these tasks reduce fertilizer guesswork and improve root growth.

You can do a lot right now that sets you up for success without rushing into two classic mistakes:

1. throwing amendments at the garden without knowing what the soil actually needs, and

2. working soil while it’s still too wet, which can damage structure for the long haul.

So, today on Just Grow Something, I’m walking you through what a soil test can (and can’t) tell you, exactly how to collect a sample that’s representative of your whole garden, the key parts of a soil report that matter most for vegetables, and bed prep steps you can do now that improve soil instead of compacting it.

Let’s dig in!

Resources:

My Seed to Sprout course is waiting for you here: https://justgrowsomething.com/indoor-seed-starting

My free Seed Starting eBook is here: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/seedbook

Soil amendment episodes and articles: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/search/amendments

How to calculate how much fertilizer to add to the garden: https://justgrowsomethingpodcast.com/blog/how-much-fertilizer-to-add-to-your-garden

References:

How temperature affects the rate of nitrification: https://livetoplant.com/how-temperature-influences-the-rate-of-nitrification/

Guide to Collecting Soil Samples - Oregon State University: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-628-guide-collecting-soil-samples-farms-gardens

Soil Compaction from Wet Soils - Purdue University Extension: https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/resist-the-urge-to-work-wet-soil/

Add Organic Matter to Improve Most Garden Soils - Oregon State University: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/add-organic-matter-improve-most-garden-soils

Just Grow Something: https://justgrowsomething.com

Just Grow Something Merch and Downloads: https://justgrowsomething.com/shop

Just Grow Something Gardening Friends Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18YgHveF5P/

Check out how you can become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JustGrowSomething

Bonus content for supporters of the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/justgrowsomething

Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justgrowsomething