How to Prepare the Soil in Spring: Organic Gardening

Temperatures are rising and the vegetable garden itch is needing to be scratched. You’ve got your garden clogs, leather gloves, garden tools and seed packets set out an ready to go.  BUT – When is too soon to get digging in the soil?  And what is so bad about getting started early?

For every region the answer varies but here in Zone 5 (update: NW Ohio is now in Zone 6) we have to contend with run off from winter snow and heavy early spring rains.  A tip that you can follow to test YOUR garden plot is testing your soil by hand.

You want to get down and dirty, right?  Well, here’s your chance.  Dig about a half a cup of soil out of your garden and squeeze it into a ball.  If water comes shooting out when you squeeze it you might was well just stop, put it back and come back in about a week.  It’s just too wet.  First of all trying to dig anything into the ground when it is sopping wet like that will destroy the soil structure.  Second, any seeds you attempt to plant will only rot.

If the ball of earth when pressed with a finger or dropped from about 3 feet crumbles into tiny little bits of earth then you are good to go.  Plants require air to their roots as well as to their leaves.  When the dirt is too wet and heavy your plants can actually drown.