Chicken Soup for the Soil
Keeping Your Soil Healthy
Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing microbes, fungi, insect life and general “creepy-crawlies” vital to plant health and vigor, as well as a receptacle for chemicals and trace elements. Doing a little soil prep every fall pays off each and every harvest.
First, add more organic matter. Use your rototiller or your spade, and dig under frostbitten plant material, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and compost. Avoid using any diseased plant material as compost - burn it first if there are no local restrictions on burning. If you live near any livestock, cover your garden with 1 - 2″ of uncomposted manure, then disguise that with other organic materials, and let the whole thing winter over. A blanket of snow from December through March will turn all of it into about