Soil Prep Recipes

Soil Prep Recipes

 

Just like with food, there are many different recipes for prepping your garden beds. Here are our favorites.

 For New Beds (Great for all annuals, perennials, roses, trees, and shrubs. Not Azaleas – see special recipe for Azaleas.) 

1. Start by tilling the soil 8” – 10” deep.
2. Mix in some soil additives to ensure that plants grow strong roots, get good drainage and have access to nutrients.
   1. Mix in 3-4” of compost.
   2. Dust with Plant Success Granules which add Mycorrhizae and Trichoderma (two beneficial Fungi groups).
   3. Add ½” to 1” of expanded shale.
   4. Put some fertilizer in with the soil.

                           i.      Texas Tea 6-2-4 is a good organic choice.

                           ii.      Fertilome Start-N-Grow 19-6-12 is a good inorganic choice.

5. (Optional) Dust with green sand to provide essential trace elements.
6. (Optional) Dust with dried molasses to feed beneficial microbes in the soil.

For pocket planting follow the recipe for new beds in proportionate amounts to the size of planting hole you are making.

For Existing Beds 

1. Top dress with about 1 ½” of compost.
2. Fertilize with either Texas Tea (organic) or Start-N-Grow (inorganic) or Nicholson-Hardie Lawn and Landscape Fertilizer 20-5-10.

For Azaleas

Remember that our native Dallas soil has a high PH balance and high mineral salt content which is toxic to Azaleas so they require special bed preparation.

 Azaleas need to be planted in a bed 15”- 18” deep with Azalea Mix which is a mixture of 50% moistened Peat Moss and 50% Pine Bark Mulch. You can get the Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix which is ready to go and a lot easier than mixing it yourself.

 Raised beds are preferable since it ensures drainage, allows more depth of Azalea mix, and allows you to be more flexible with your location.   

1. Excavate 2” to 4” of your existing soil. Prior to this you will need to think about where you want to put this soil… in your garden or have it hauled away.
2. Raise your beds 14” to 16” with Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix.

 Then you are ready for planting your Azaleas.

These recipes will help you get the best results for new beds and help maintain existing beds. Right now is a great time to start prepping your garden beds to get ready for the Spring.