{"id":22550,"date":"2025-01-24T18:50:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T02:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=22550"},"modified":"2025-01-24T18:50:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T02:50:28","slug":"how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/","title":{"rendered":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A handful of years ago, I wrote a post about my routine of not tilling, fluffing, loosening the dirt in my vegetable beds (“Don’t dig your garden”<\/a>). I still don’t turn over the dirt or incorporate compost or manure into my vegetable beds after 11 years of growing in the same beds. My practice is to simply spread a layer of a couple inches of compost over the surface a bed before planting (as I wrote about in my post, “Fertile soil can be child’s play”<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are nuances. And in this post, I list four additional things that I do sometimes<\/em> before sowing or planting a new crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Remove root systems<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, when I harvest a head of lettuce or cauliflower, I cut the plant at the soil surface and leave its root system in the ground. Same with when I remove old peas or onion bulbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for any plant that is a host for root knot nematodes, I pull up the root system to check for galls. If I find galls, then I remove all roots I find and take them to the trash. This reduces the number of root knot nematodes in my dirt for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RKN-host plants that I check for galls include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and pumpkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(See my post, “What are root knot nematodes?”<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fluff for carrots<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve found carrots to be the only crop that ought to be sown in dirt that has been tilled and fluffed up. But it’s not because tilling makes the carrots grow better; it\u2019s that they\u2019re easier to harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is important to me because it\u2019s mostly my kids that harvest the carrots I sow, and they harvest by hand, by pulling on the tops. If the carrot root doesn\u2019t release from the dirt easily, then the kids break off many tops and waste carrots. So I do, as a routine, dig and loosen the dirt of a bed before I sow carrots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kids harvesting carrots (while one wears a ninja costume).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fork<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After adding compost, these days I usually sink a fork into the bed throughout. This enables me to feel any gopher tunnels under the bed, and if I find one I can collapse it. I’m always surprised how many I find even if I never saw evidence of the gopher from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, some of my vegetable beds are near fruit trees or grape vines, and sinking the fork into the bed enables me to detect their roots. Each year, they reach into the vegetable area to feed and drink. Each year, I need to pull or chop many of those roots so that they don’t compete with my vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Move the drip line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My vegetable beds are permanent. That is, I don’t move their location. I have drip irrigation set up and I plant over and over again in the same areas of dirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I’ve found it beneficial to move these drip lines about a foot from their normal path every now and then in order to give my plants access to new dirt and to avoid the buildup of certain critters (such as root knot nematodes) in the soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t remove the lines and punch them into the lateral in a new place; I just curve them so that I can plant about a foot away from where the previous crop grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A pretty head of lettuce I harvested the other day,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Maybe employing one of these practices will enhance your vegetable garden too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for your support<\/a> of my Yard Posts. It allows me to keep them coming and keep them ad-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Yard Posts are listed HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A handful of years ago, I wrote a post about my routine of not tilling, fluffing, loosening the dirt in my vegetable beds (“Don’t dig your garden”). I still don’t turn over the dirt or incorporate compost or manure into my vegetable beds after 11 years of growing in the same beds. My practice is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soil-and-fertilizer","category-vegetables"],"yoast_head":"\nHow I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A handful of years ago, I wrote a post about my routine of not tilling, fluffing, loosening the dirt in my vegetable beds (“Don’t dig your garden”). I still don’t turn over the dirt or incorporate compost or manure into my vegetable beds after 11 years of growing in the same beds. My practice is […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Alder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Alder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Alder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"headline\":\"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":635,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/fork-FI.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Soil\",\"Vegetables\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/\",\"name\":\"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/fork-FI.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/fork-FI.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/fork-FI.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":712},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/\",\"name\":\"Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening\",\"description\":\"Southern California food gardening\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\\\/yardposts\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a\",\"name\":\"Greg Alder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Greg Alder\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gregalder.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","og_description":"A handful of years ago, I wrote a post about my routine of not tilling, fluffing, loosening the dirt in my vegetable beds (“Don’t dig your garden”). I still don’t turn over the dirt or incorporate compost or manure into my vegetable beds after 11 years of growing in the same beds. My practice is […]","og_url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/","og_site_name":"Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","article_published_time":"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":712,"url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Alder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Alder","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/"},"author":{"name":"Greg Alder","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"headline":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting","datePublished":"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/"},"wordCount":635,"commentCount":6,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","articleSection":["Soil","Vegetables"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/","name":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting - Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-25T02:50:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-25T02:50:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","width":1100,"height":712},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/how-i-prepare-my-vegetable-beds-for-planting\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How I prepare my vegetable beds for planting"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/","name":"Greg Alder's Yard Posts: Southern California food gardening","description":"Southern California food gardening","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/#\/schema\/person\/7c17362732023b01ed23dc69d6fa703a","name":"Greg Alder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Greg Alder"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7ef6613d5043bdbb67157e2bfbbecb138148fad9c893cd424f6f14c5f7ff393e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/gregalder.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/fork-FI.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22550"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22570,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22550\/revisions\/22570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}