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Improving soil
When you first start growing veg, the odds are that your soil will be pretty crap. Don't worry, all soil can be improved - it takes a couple of years, but you can start with bad soil and know that your crop will get better as the soil improves.
How to improve it?
COMPOST
1. Get a compost bin (or compost heap if you prefer). Some councils sell cheap compost bins made from recycled plastic - it's worth asking. If they have them, they'll often be cheaper than from a garden centre.
2. Into your compost bin chuck all kitchen waste. Add grass clippings, weeds (except roots of bindweed), egg boxes (cardboard rots and the air pockets are very handy). You can add moderate amounts of newspaper as long as you tear it up and mix well in. If you add it in layers, it won't rot down. You can add bits of small woody stuff (ie. Cut up your brambles, hedge prunings etc) The basic rule of thumb is that anything that was once alive will compost.
3. Over six months to a year, the compost will rot down. If you're really keen, you can accelerate the process by mixing it all up at intervals. You need a good mixture of stuff. If you have nothing but grass clippings, it won't rot. Add cardboard to grass clippings and it will rot. (and vice versa). Kitchen waste rots fastest.
4. When it's rotted down, take out any big woody bits and chuck them on the top of your new compost pile. (You need two bins/piles so that one can be filling up while the other is rotting down - but you can wait until the first is full before getting a second)
5. Do NOT squash down your compost. The air spaces are important - that's why the woody bits and egg boxes/toilet roll middles are handy, they help give the pile structure.
When you finally have your compost, you can either dig it in, or apply it as a surface layer. Both work.
MANURE
1. If you have a riding stable anywhere near you, contact them and ask if they'd like you to remove some of their manure. Most places will be delighted to see you take it away.
2. Take as much as you possibly can. There may be a thing such as too much manure, but I've yet to encounter it. You can use a two inch layer all over your soil and do no harm at all. A year or two after you've added this sort of amount, the soil texture dramatically improves.
3. It does need to be ROTTED manure. Fresh manure would be bad for the plants.
4. Ideally, dig the stuff in in the autumn so it's incorporated by spring. Having said that, there's a number of plants (like fruit bushes) that are happy for you to apply a surface layer in spring. And manure any time is better than no manure for improving soil.
5. Do NOT use manure where you're going to plant seeds (the lumps will be too big). That's where you need to have manured the year before.
6. Brassicas (cabbages, brocolli, etc) do not like manure. Everything else does.
DIGGING
1. When you first start off a bed, you'll need to dig it. The soil will probably be compacted and will need the air. Find instructions for double digging and follow them (because I can't do a diagram here). Ideally, incorporate manure/compost into the lower spit.
2. Get the weeds out. Especially couch grass and bindweed. (If you have a bindweed problem, use glyphosphate)
3. Once you've got it properly dug, try and avoid walking on it (this compacts the soil, reduces the amount of air and impairs it's water-holding ability). If you have an old plank, put that on the soil and walk along the plank when you need to reach things.
4. If you're applying compost or manure and aren't planting anything from seed at the time, then you can often apply them as a surface layer and let the worms do the hard work. Don't dig unless you have to: a. Life is too short. b. Digging is not good for soil structure c. digging speeds up the loss of organic matter.
FERTILISER
1. A layer of grass clippings is a surprisingly effective way of keeping down weeds and adding nitrogen and organic matter. Sprinkle a layer at least two inches thick around established plants (leaving a couple of inches of space around the stem).
2. Dilute urine is fantastic and free. Pee into a plastic milk bottle (or whatever else takes your fancy). Fill a normal watering can a bit over 3/4 full, add 1 litre of urine and that should bring it to full. Pour over anything that you want to fertilise/water. Repeat as often as you fill up bottles. My onions are looking great! This treatment can be applied every 3 or 4 days and seems to have almost magical effects on plant growth and resistance to disease. It also helps the plants fight off slugs (and going by my gooseberry bush it also seems to help the plant fight aphids). Urine is sterile when it leaves the body, so don't worry on that score.
How to improve it?
COMPOST
1. Get a compost bin (or compost heap if you prefer). Some councils sell cheap compost bins made from recycled plastic - it's worth asking. If they have them, they'll often be cheaper than from a garden centre.
2. Into your compost bin chuck all kitchen waste. Add grass clippings, weeds (except roots of bindweed), egg boxes (cardboard rots and the air pockets are very handy). You can add moderate amounts of newspaper as long as you tear it up and mix well in. If you add it in layers, it won't rot down. You can add bits of small woody stuff (ie. Cut up your brambles, hedge prunings etc) The basic rule of thumb is that anything that was once alive will compost.
3. Over six months to a year, the compost will rot down. If you're really keen, you can accelerate the process by mixing it all up at intervals. You need a good mixture of stuff. If you have nothing but grass clippings, it won't rot. Add cardboard to grass clippings and it will rot. (and vice versa). Kitchen waste rots fastest.
4. When it's rotted down, take out any big woody bits and chuck them on the top of your new compost pile. (You need two bins/piles so that one can be filling up while the other is rotting down - but you can wait until the first is full before getting a second)
5. Do NOT squash down your compost. The air spaces are important - that's why the woody bits and egg boxes/toilet roll middles are handy, they help give the pile structure.
When you finally have your compost, you can either dig it in, or apply it as a surface layer. Both work.
MANURE
1. If you have a riding stable anywhere near you, contact them and ask if they'd like you to remove some of their manure. Most places will be delighted to see you take it away.
2. Take as much as you possibly can. There may be a thing such as too much manure, but I've yet to encounter it. You can use a two inch layer all over your soil and do no harm at all. A year or two after you've added this sort of amount, the soil texture dramatically improves.
3. It does need to be ROTTED manure. Fresh manure would be bad for the plants.
4. Ideally, dig the stuff in in the autumn so it's incorporated by spring. Having said that, there's a number of plants (like fruit bushes) that are happy for you to apply a surface layer in spring. And manure any time is better than no manure for improving soil.
5. Do NOT use manure where you're going to plant seeds (the lumps will be too big). That's where you need to have manured the year before.
6. Brassicas (cabbages, brocolli, etc) do not like manure. Everything else does.
DIGGING
1. When you first start off a bed, you'll need to dig it. The soil will probably be compacted and will need the air. Find instructions for double digging and follow them (because I can't do a diagram here). Ideally, incorporate manure/compost into the lower spit.
2. Get the weeds out. Especially couch grass and bindweed. (If you have a bindweed problem, use glyphosphate)
3. Once you've got it properly dug, try and avoid walking on it (this compacts the soil, reduces the amount of air and impairs it's water-holding ability). If you have an old plank, put that on the soil and walk along the plank when you need to reach things.
4. If you're applying compost or manure and aren't planting anything from seed at the time, then you can often apply them as a surface layer and let the worms do the hard work. Don't dig unless you have to: a. Life is too short. b. Digging is not good for soil structure c. digging speeds up the loss of organic matter.
FERTILISER
1. A layer of grass clippings is a surprisingly effective way of keeping down weeds and adding nitrogen and organic matter. Sprinkle a layer at least two inches thick around established plants (leaving a couple of inches of space around the stem).
2. Dilute urine is fantastic and free. Pee into a plastic milk bottle (or whatever else takes your fancy). Fill a normal watering can a bit over 3/4 full, add 1 litre of urine and that should bring it to full. Pour over anything that you want to fertilise/water. Repeat as often as you fill up bottles. My onions are looking great! This treatment can be applied every 3 or 4 days and seems to have almost magical effects on plant growth and resistance to disease. It also helps the plants fight off slugs (and going by my gooseberry bush it also seems to help the plant fight aphids). Urine is sterile when it leaves the body, so don't worry on that score.