Whether you want to know how to plant seeds or how to grow garden crops that someone else started, the content and texture of your soil is critical to your cooking garden. A successful garden depends on good soil. Ideal soil is not to sandy and not too clay like. Your soil needs to be able to drain adequately, but also hang on to the moisture just enough. Too sandy and all your water runs off, too clay like and you drown your plants. Your vegetables require a lot of water and a level garden for uniform watering is the best. You may find that you will need to modify the soil you're going to use for your garden.

If you have soil that is too sandy, you will need to improve it. If you have soil that sticks together too much like clay, you will need to improve it. The good news is that the answer to both kinds of soil is the same and that is to add organic matter.

Sandy soil is deficient in organic matter, so adding large amounts of organic matter helps give this soil a better water holding capacity. Organic matter added to soil that is like clay makes it more pliable improving its ability for water to pass through. Again, large amounts of organic matter are likely to be needed to make this soil suitable. you will want to use about a 2 to 1 ratio of organic matter to soil to be effective.

Great, so what is organic matter? Simply stated, organic matter is plant and animal material that is in the process of decomposing. The simplest way to add organic matter to your soil is to add compost or apply mulch. For the heavy clay soil your better off not using peat moss, straw or shredded bark as they don't break down quickly enough. Stick with manure, compost or green plant material as they break down more rapidly. Even if you have good soil to start with, it's not a bad idea to add organic matter to your soil.

Healthy soil includes a mixture of air, water, minerals and organic matter. The benefits of adding organic matter to good soil, in addition to compensating for too sandy or too clay like, is that it adds carbon to the soil promoting beneficial bacteria growth making it more likely that you will have hearty plants.

Lots of organic matter is a good thing. In fact, once you have worked your soil over well and added organic matter, it's best to keep the tilling of the soil to a minimum, once or twice a year. The reason for this is that when the soil is turned , oxygen is added, and oxygen feeds microbial activity that breaks down the organic matter.

If you invest the time it takes to make your soil good and healthy, it will pay dividends when it's time to start eating the produce of your cooking garden.