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March 2, 2021 By Ellen Wells

Preparing Your Garden Bed for Planting

March is the month to build the best foundation possible for your garden as you enter the busy growing season. We at Organic Mechanics know that attention to the garden bed is fundamental to a productive garden. Whether you’re growing veggies or ornamental plants, beautiful blooms and bountiful harvests result from what those plants are growing in. We have rounded up a few tips to help you prepare your garden for a successful season ahead.   

Rake Your Garden Bed

I always say the first crop in my garden are the small stones that the winter’s freezing and thawing cycles push up to the surface. Run a garden over the soil to remove these rocks. It’ll also pull away any old weeds, leaves and other debris that gathered during the winter. You can compost this old material from the garden, just keep it a distance from the garden so any overwintering pests don’t make their way back.

Remove Weeds

Some weeds are super hardy and may have already gotten a pretty good jump on growing. Pull these weeds by hand or loosen with a trowel or shovel at their base. I like to use a hand tool that pulls roots out just below the surface with a scraping action. We love using a tool called the CobraHead Weeder (it literally looks like a cobra!). It’s awesome for those early-season, low-growing weeds such as sorels. You can compost these weeds as long as they haven’t already gone to seed.

Add Compost to the Garden Bed

Whether you’re a Northerner who is walking the garden’s perimeter to assess supplies and plan for sowing St. Patrick’s Day peas (maybe some hardy greens, too), or a Southern gardener who is acclimating summer-season seedlings, your garden could do with an application of compost. We recommend adding 1 to 2 inches of a compost blend such as Organic Mechanics Planting Mix Compost Blend to the garden’s surface each year. This blend contains compost, pine bark, coir and worm castings that combine to charge the soil with organic matter and increase its moisture retention properties. We like to gently rake it in a few weeks before planting so it begins to incorporate with the native soil.

Disturb Soil Minimally

Notice how the advice above calls for little disturbing of the soil. This is because the soil microbiome, or the network of living things—“good” fungi and bacteria, for example—works best for helping plant roots grow strong when it is kept intact. Digging a hole to insert seeds or a plant is fine as it disturbs just a small portion and can easily reform. Running a tiller or spading and turning over the entire garden disturbs a valuable resource that exists just under the soil’s surface. This “no-till” method of planting is invaluable to your garden—plus, it’s a lot less work.

Do Disturb If Applying Biochar

Organic Mechanics’ Biochar Blend is a “once-in-a-lifetime” application for newly created garden beds.

If you are establishing a completely new garden plot or are revitalizing an old, worn-out garden, use Organic Mechanics’ Biochar Blend. It contains all sorts of minerals—zeolite and azomite, for example—that nourish your soil’s microbiome and plant roots. It’s also packed with compost, worm castings and alfalfa and kelp meals for added nutrients.

The caveat here is that you do have to disturb the soil if applying Biochar Blend. We recommend applying 1 cu.ft. of the Biochar Blend per 24 sq.ft. of garden. Apply a half-inch of biochar and mix it into the top 5 to 6 inches of your garden’s soil. The good news is a biochar application is a one-time deal since it persists in the soil “for a lifetime” if applied at our suggested rates.

What is this stuff called Biochar? You can find more info on the material from the International Biochar Initiative.

A close-up of the composition of Organic Mechanics’ Biochar Blend.

A Soil Test Note

Organic Mechanics’ Planting Mix Compost Blend and Biochar Blend going down into a brand-new vegetable garden bed.

One added suggestion here. If you have a soil test of your garden done before you add the Biochar Blend, this allows you the opportunity to add any fertilizers that will provide nutrients your soil may be lacking. As you till your soil, the added biochar and fertilizers will make it’s way further down in the soil profile for easier access by roots and those beneficial microbes.

Whether you are gazing upon a new garden plot or are coaxing those summer seedlings to hardiness, now is a great time to stock up on your soils and amendments to be ready when Mother Nature gives the garden its go-ahead.

Filed Under: Articles, Learning Center Tagged With: Biochar, flower, garden bed, garden prep, gardening, Mark Highland, Organic Mechanics, Planting Mix Compost Blend, preparation, soil, spring, vegetable

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Next Post: Planting roses in containers with Organic Mechanics »

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Summer is for planting! And we're all about it in Summer is for planting! And we're all about it in our June e-newsletter. Read about how you can join us at the #phillyflowershow @phsgardening with Planting Potting Party host @tubloom, get tips on how to water more wisely this summer—and how #insectfrass can help with that and get inspired with some fun combo container ideas. 

Looking to follow more gardeners? Meet our Happy, Smiling Customer of the month, @peoniesandpalomas and then check out @mostardinursery, an awesome area garden retailer who loves to help you grow successfully. 

Find it all—plus a promo code!—at the first link in our bio up above. Have a great, gardening-filled weekend!

#growlikeaboss 
#organicgardening 
#containergardening 
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#organicsoil 
#organicmechanicsoil
Is planting up some summer-loving containers on yo Is planting up some summer-loving containers on your to-do list this weekend? We have some tips for you about how to prep and some ideas on how to mix 'em up. It's the topic of our latest blog post! Head over to our bio and click on the link, then select the June Blog Post. I'm kinda lovin' this salvia - what'll you plant? 
#growlikeaboss 
#summercontainers 
#summercontainerideas 
#organicgardening 
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#vegetablegarden 
#veggiesinpots
It's time to get growing, people! In our May e-new It's time to get growing, people! In our May e-newsletter you'll find info on 
- the benefits of amending soils so early in the growing season
- how #biochar, #compost and #wormcastings are like Popeye's spinach
- why you shouldn't pack up your frost cloth just yet!
Also, we highlight two awesome entities, both of whom love #organicmechanics - @year_round_farmer and @capcityhydro.organics - thank you for loving our stuff! 
Read the May e-news "Ready, Set, Grow!" via the link in our bio above (Pssst: There's a promo code for Worm Castings!). Then tag us (@organicmechanicsoil) when you're using any of our soils and amendments this spring. 
So get out there and #growlikeaboss 
#organicmechanics 
#organicgardening
It's been a cool start to the veggie gardening sea It's been a cool start to the veggie gardening season. Frost cloths, landscape fabric, topdressing and getting as much pre-planting work done as possible have been on our agendas. Read all about it in our latest #organicmechanics blog post—link in our profile!
How have you been coping? Tag us in your clever crop coverings with @organicmechanicsoil #organicmechanics #growlikeaboss
@htgsupply in Cranberry Township PA today till 6pm @htgsupply in Cranberry Township PA today till 6pm! Stop by to talk soils, pick up some samples, and score killer deals on Organic Mechanics products! 

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Had a blast @urbanjunglephilly yesterday! Thanks t Had a blast @urbanjunglephilly yesterday! Thanks to all who came out to talk soils with Eric! Good to see so many Organic Mechanics, both big and small! 🌅✨🪴✨🌅

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Hey Philly, you're invited! Come down to Urban Jun Hey Philly, you're invited! Come down to Urban Jungle on Water Street today 10am-4pm to level up your organic soil game! Shop their lush and local plants, high five Eric from OM, then talk with him about the benefits of going organic with your soil and choosing the right products for a successful garden. There’s free parking available under I-95. Bring your cards, no cash, this space is card only. See ya there!!

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Hey Philly Phriends! Join Eric from Organic Mechan Hey Philly Phriends! Join Eric from Organic Mechanics at the NEW Urban Jungle retail nursery located at 1721 S. Water Street in Pennsport this Saturday from 10am-4pm. Come check out their plant selections and talk with Eric about choosing the right soil for your needs. You know us, We Work On Your Soil!

#urbanjunglephilly #urbanjungle #visitphilly #shoplocal #philly #organicmechanics #soil #organic #local #growlikeaboss #fuhgeddaboudit
Happy Earth Day y’all! While we strive to make e Happy Earth Day y’all! While we strive to make everyday Earth Day, today is a day to reflect on how we impact Mother Earth with everyday decisions. Collectively our actions can create impact - one garden at a time, one decision at a time. We salute each of you working to make a difference everyday! Hope y’all get to spend some time in your gardens today and this weekend!

#earthday #earthdayeveryday #earth #day #ecological #landscape #alliance #ela #community #impact #reduce #reuse #recycle #organic #organicgardening #soilfoodweb #grow #love #respect #growlikeaboss #oneearth #onelove #🌎
@htgsupply in Rock Island IL today till 6pm! 4/20 @htgsupply in Rock Island IL today till 6pm! 4/20 partay all day! Lots of Vendors. Foodtruck! Stop by to talk soils, pick up some samples, and scOrganic Mechanics products! 

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