Providing your plants with healthy soil is an essential skill to grow amazing food.
Big Green focuses on soil management for growing food in containers like grow bags and Big Green beds, which are different from caring for soil in the ground. To keep your soil and plants healthy follow these three suggestions:
- Choose the best soil: Opt for organic potting mix, which is rich in nutrients and free from harmful chemicals.
- Feed the soil: Twice a year, add compost to enrich the soil’s organic matter, and once a month, use an organic fertilizer to provide essential nutrients to your plants.
- Mulch the soil: Cover any exposed soil with mulch to protect it from the elements, retain moisture, and suppress weeds.
Amending soil for nutrients and structure
Amending soil just means adding things to it. Soils can be amended to increase nutrients available to plants (aka fertilizer) and to improve the structure or texture of the soil. You can amend your old potting mix by adding new potting mix to replenish and refresh the old soil in your containers. Compost is also an excellent soil amendment choice, as it provides a balanced blend of nutrients and supports healthy soil structure.
Mulching soil to make gardening easy.
Mulching your soil is a simple but effective way to improve your gardening experience. By adding a layer of mulch, you can help retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds, encourage healthy soil organisms, and boost soil nutrition.
Choose organic materials that are readily available in your area, such as fallen leaves, straw, or wood chips, for your mulch layer. Apply a layer of two to four inches of mulch to all exposed areas of your garden soil. When planting seeds or seedlings, simply move aside the mulch layer to create a space for planting. Be careful not to allow the mulch to come in direct contact with your plants as this could cause damage.
