Topics Soil Management

January 8th 2008

Crop Rotation

Rotation is the practice of not growing plants where similar plants grew the previous year.
This practice prevents the build up of pests and diseases and optimizes the use of soil nutrients. Plants from different "families" need different amounts of nutrients and their root systems also penetrate the soil to different levels. To simplify, we try to alternate between leaf crops and root crops. Leaf crops tend to be heavy nitrogen feeders with fairly shallow root systems. Root crops usually require more phosphorus and potassium and need deep soils in order to grow properly.

October 3rd 2007

Preparing Raised Planting Beds

For gardeners who are considering building raised beds, the key is to make sure the soil in the bed is well-aerated. The sides of the bed don't necessarily have to be held up with bricks or wood (which are great slug and sow-bug havens), but can be used for planting. Make use of low-growing ornamental plants on the sides of the beds. All the vegetables, except the root crops, can also be planted right down the sides to the path.