How to Prepare Your Soil for Gardening

I've been to Home Depot, Lowes and Osh more times than I can count, and 90% of the time it isn't for me. It's to support my wife's gardening hobby. She plants and grows gardens everywhere we move. I'm in the military so we move houses and bases often. We've lived in different types of weather and it doesn't seem to matter where, my wife will grow a garden. I used to get tired of carrying all the fertilizer and mulch bags until I saw how pretty her flowers grew and how we won Yard of the Week on base one time for her hard work.
I decided to take this opportunity to ask her a few questions on how she gets such beautiful gardens and plants no matter the weather or area. We started at the root of the problems most new gardeners have: the soil.

So why is the dirt the first problem?

People think when they first start gardening they can just dig a hole, put the plant in the dirt, give it water and it will grow. You can't just do that. You have to prepare the soil.

What does that involve?

First, you have to figure out what kind of soil you have. You either have good soil, sandy soil or soil full of clay. Grab a handful and squeeze it together then try to break it. If it falls apart in your hand easily, you've got a lot of sand. If your soil sticks together and doesn't separate with a good tap, you've got a lot of clay. If it sticks together when you squeeze it and falls apart with a good tap, your soil is good to go.

So how do you fix it when there's too much sand?

You have to get a couple of products. You need to get fertilizer or gardening soil. You can get large bags of these at most home and garden stores. Miracle Gro puts out the best brand for about $4 or $5, depending on the size of the bag and the size of your garden.

What about soil with clay?

You need to get cow manure. That's the best fertilizer to mix into soil with lots of clay. Black Cow has the best brand. You can also use garden soil or natural compost.

Once you get your dirt set, how often should you water?

You should water at least once a week. You should water your soil in the mornings at dawn. If you water at night, the water will stay on your plants and can form plant diseases. If you water in the middle of the day under a lot of sun, the water can evaporate.

How long do you leave the sprinklers on?

It depends on what kind of sprinkler you have. Your soil only usually needs one inch of water. The best way to measure it is to buy a special measuring tool at a garden shop. It's exactly an inch deep. You can put it in your soil, turn your sprinkler on and then see how long it takes to fill it. If you don't have one you can use a cup or anything to catch the water and measure it with a ruler.

What kind of plants can you grow after all that?

All kinds. Some grow better in certain weather than others, but if you take care of the soil first, usually you can grow what's good in the area.