What Should I Do to My Soil to Make It Good for a Garden?

Amend Your Soil

Mix amendments into the soil to improve its physical properties, such as water retention, nutritional capacity, drainage and aeration. Organic amendments were once living things, whereas inorganic amendments are mined. Organic amendments include wood chips, grass clippings, straw, manure, sawdust and sphagnum peat. Inorganic amendments include perlite, sand and vermiculite. Tire chunks are a man-made inorganic amendment. Amend your soil until one-third of the volume is amendments to produce adequate change in the soil's physical characteristics. Rototill amendments into the soil in the fall to allow organic amendments to break down before planting. Rototill again the spring to mix the soil with the amendments.

Build a compost pile to create your own organic matter. Compost is derived from decomposed plant waste. Compost will resemble deep, rich garden soil when properly done. Contain the compost pile in a compost bin or wire structure. Place 3 inches of coarse plant waste, such as twigs, chipped wood or corn stalks, at the bottom of the bin. Apply a layer of kitchen or plant waste, such as coffee grounds, weeds, eggshells and straw. Add a layer of manure or nitrogen-rich plant waste, such as grass clippings. Repeat layers as you build your compost pile. Water compost until just moist. Compost piles generate heat as plant matter decomposes and mixes with nitrogen-rich materials. The temperature should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit to properly decompose and kill weed seeds. Add additional plant matter or nitrogen if the compost pile fails to generate heat. Turn the pile every four to six weeks.

Grow green cover crops to enrich your soil. Break up difficult soil by planting vetch, crimson clover, field peas, wheat, ryegrass or barley in the fall or spring. Rototill the cover crop into the soil at least two weeks before spring planting. Do not allow the cover crop to go to seed.

Layer organic or inorganic mulches on top of your soil to suppress weeds, improve soil structure and prevent water loss. Organic mulches include compost, straw and wood chips. Inorganic mulches include plastics and gravel. Apply 2 inches of mulch on top of the soil in the early spring for optimal water retention. According to the Oregon State University Extension, mulch can reduce evaporation by 75 percent by retaining moisture and reducing soil temperatures.