Before following those 3 steps to a healthier garden when flower gardening. . .

. . . you must recognize your soil and know how to prepare it accordingly. This article explains how to do this so you can better prepare your soil  before planting your seeds.

3 Steps To A Healthier Garden

© Bill Watson

For flower gardening, the goal is to loosen earth that has become compacted, and to condition or recondition the soil by replenishing vital minerals and nutrients to promote healthy vigorous growth.

This is best done after the winter rains or frost but before the summer growing season has started. However you can recondition any time the ground is not too wet or frozen to till.

Different flower gardening soils:

A clay or heavy clay soil  greatly benefits from the addition of organic material.  You can never add too much.

Because of its particles' size and shape, clay tends to become compacted and will drain slowly or not at all. The heavy compact nature of clay tends to prevent air from reaching the roots --  thus slow plant growth .

Combining a generous amount of organic material with clay can offset its tendency towards compaction and improve drainage while still maintaining moisture.

A good ratio of clay soil to organic material is roughly 50/50.

Sandy soil,  the opposite of clay,  generally drains too fast, and is unable to hold onto any nutrients long enough for a plant to use them.Organic matter helps to hold onto water and nutrients, so it's almost impossible to add too much.

A higher ratio of organic material to sand is good  as the organic matter tends to break down faster due to faster drainage (more oxygen).

Clay and sand are at the opposite end of the soil type spectrum. Most gardens are somewhere in the middle.  When flower gardening, the addition of organic material in any type of soil greatly improves your garden's performance.

Organic material can be peat moss, shredded bark, composted or decomposed plant material, some form of manure (generally cow manure), or even worm castings or rice hulls.

Potting soil may have little or no actual "dirt" in it. Organic material helps maintain moisture content levels, increase biological activity, and prevent soil compaction.

3 Steps to a Healthier Garden

1. When preparing for planting, till (or break up and loosen the soil with shovel or spading fork) ) no less than 4 inches and no more than 12 inches deep.

2. Level the bed a little,  then add at least 2 inches of organic material on top of the bed and work in evenly to a depth of 4 to 6 inches.  If adding 2 or more inches of organic material  raises your beds higher than you’d prefer, remove some of the existing soil first. 

3. Again, level the bed a little,  sprinkle or add a granulated-slow release fertilizer of your choice on top, and "scratch in" or lightly till to about 1 to 2 inches deep.

Note:  
All depths listed are Rule of Thumb measurements. In general all plants respond well to the above system.

If most of your flower gardening plants are to be shorter (1 to 2 feet high),  till about 6 to 8 inches deep.

Since taller plants will have deeper root systems, tilling deeper in that case will be helpful. However, tilling deeper than 12 inches is an unnecessary use of time and energy.

To add organic material around existing or established plants, till in to about 2 inches deep if close to a plant, and a little deeper if further away.

Try not to disturb the roots too much, and always water when you're done to settle any roots that may have been disturbed.

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Authors Bio -
With over 20 years of gardening and Landscaping experience, Bill Watson now shares his tips and advice on creating and maintaining lush and healthy gardens. Visit his website at http://www.your-healthy-gardens.com/.  For Webmasters who wishes to build a Website that Works, visit: http://www.your-healthy-gardens.com/website.html