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What is transplanting? ➡️ Finding a new home for your seedlings ➡️ Building a raised bed ➡️ Caring for your garden outside

⌛ Time estimate: 20 minutes

🔊 Prefer to listen to the audio version of this section? Click over here to play it! 👂 ➡️

https://soundcloud.com/junior-jardinero/chapter-8-section-4-caring-for?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Soil Prep

Vegetables need good soil for healthy growth and harvests 🥬. You can’t have strong, productive plants without rich, soft soil that allows the roots to grow deep enough to soak up nutrients 😄.

<aside> 📺 Check out this video on how to prepare and improve your soil!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1PFLIvUgnw

The good news is that you can improve your soil with compost and organic matter. Rich soil literally has a life of its own with micro-organism activity (like earthworms! 🪱) that break down matter to release essential nutrients that plants need. Soil rich with organic matter holds onto nutrients and moisture but drains well 💦, loosens soil to create more oxygen 💨 for plants, and stabilizes and anchors plant 🌱 roots .

3. Steps for Preparing Your Soil

1. Clear out rocks and debris. This is important if you’re planting in the ground, but also important to have a tidy area of soil free of rocks and other non-organic items in a a pot or raised bed. 🪨
2. Loosen the soil. If it’s your very first garden, loosen soil to a depth at least 8 inches (12 is better) so that roots can reach down. ⏬
3. Adding Organic Matter: this is where you can add your compost to give your soil a healthy kickstart! 💗
   • Spread a minimum of 2 to 3 inches of organic compost onto your soil (and no more than four inches).
   • Many gardeners will dig the organic matter into the soil. However, there’s also a no-dig philosophy to expose fewer weed seeds and not disturb the soil structure; simply leave the compost on the surface. Let the worms do the digging in for you! 🪱
   • To us, it really depends on the shape of your soil. In year one, if you have poor soil, we’d work in the compost. Or, if you have hard, compact soil, consider building a raised bed. Or, you could grow in planters and containers. 🪴

Watering

Your watering schedule 📅 should stay the same when you move your plants outside! You can continue to water every other day. ✅Still check that your soil is moist by using the finger trick. ☝️