I will beginning my first vegetable/herb garden next year of any type much less organic. I live near St. Louis with lots of clay, but I plan on building up a pretty large bed this fall. However, I need to know what I need to do to start properly preparing for next season in regards to the soil. I will begin with the basics... Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Green Onions, Carrots,
various lettuces etc... Thanks for any insight!!!

First, it is awesome that you are building your beds this fall rather than in the spring. This way you can be ready to plant the earliest crops like spinach, lettuce, peas, and beets. You also get the hard work done and can have fun planting - which is my favorite part of gardening.

If you have clay, you will either need to amend your soil heavily with organic matter - compost, well rotted manure, grass clippings, rotted or chopped up leaves - so that you can lighten the structure of the clay. This will help with drainage as well as allow you to grow root crops successfully. Onions, beets, carrots, or any other root veggie that has to push and fight against heavy soil to grow will not be very successful.

If you can afford to truck in topsoil, it could be the best investment in the future of your garden. This depends on if you plan on staying where you are in the long-term. I paid mucho bucks for my soil, and if I ever left I would take it with me.

You also need to decide what types of beds you want to make. I prefer mounded raised beds (without wood borders) which would work very well for your clay soil since it would raise your plants up above the solid clay ground and help aid with drainage. Raised beds also heat up sooner in the spring so that you can plant earlier. They also allow you to plant intensively rather than in rows. As long as they are not more than 4 feet across, you can work them from either side.

Once you get your beds mapped out and made, you can start thinking about where you want to plant what, and if you are going to buy your plants or start them from seed. I plot and scheme in December and January and place all of my seed orders before January 15th. It is a fun thing to do when it is cold and snowy outside.

Finding a great gardening book that is specific to your region and climate zone is essential. All you do then is follow instructions. I credit my gardening success to having good books and references. Finding a good guide to planting intensively is important as well so that you know how to space all the different types of veggies for maximum yield. Good luck and have fun!!!!

Welcome! And it makes sense to prepare the soil first, before planting.

It's not really necessary to get topsoil. Do a search on "lasagna gardening" and use that method. Basically you'll be layering newspaper or cardboard with lots of organic material, such as fall leaves, food garbage, compost, coffee grounds, straw, etc.

Compost is the most important addition to your soil. Search that too. After 17 years my once hard-as-cement clay soil is now soft and fluffy.

"Topsoil" the top 4 inches of soil. The seller of "topsoil" will bring you the same stuff you already have so why pay them for doing that. Add organic matter.
Start by contacting your local University of Missouri Cooperative Extension Service office for information on taking a soil test and find out about yuour soils pH and nutrient levels for a base. Then do these simple tests to really get to know your soil;
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fillting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it it for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Your primary concern is the OM level and yours may be pretty good.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like. Pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

Once you have a better idea of what your soil is then you can plan on what you need to do to make it into a soil that will grow strong and healthy plants.

I too have mounded beds and purchased topsoil because I decided I wanted a bigger veggie garden for planting this fall. To get desired fall crops, I needed to plant the same week. To make up for my lack of foresight and patience, I bought 3 cubic yards of topsoil.

My house is older, but sits on serious clay. What I did was to measure out the beds, loosen the clay without changing the layering (didn't turn it over), then put 6-7 inches of top soil on top of that. That allowed me to start with good soil and allow for some drainage.

To maintain my investment, however, I've got a hot compost pile going and will add another next weekend.


Since the garden isn't going until next year, you could certainly do the lasagne style as you would have winter to break it down into what amounts to straight compost.

The other thing to consider, however, is your planting space. Around here, the way they do the new houses is to scrape the top soil, build the house, then just lay sod. The top soil then becomes another source of revenue for the builder. If you have a house like this, buying topsoil might be a good idea.

happy gardening!

Thanks for the great info! I appreciate all the replies so far and look forward to more insight any and all of you may be able to give.

Welcome Jeff.

What the others said, plus this:

Be patient. Amending your clay soil will take a few years, but the results are delicious. Patience is also cheaper than instant gratification. Instead of spending money on importing yards and yards of better soil, how about building compost piles on the site you intend to plant up the next year? It doesn't matter so much if the piles haven't quite finished by the time spring planting comes around: just till the compost in, and plant. Compost heaps improve the soil they're standing on, just by standing on them. Worms come in and start doing the tilling for you.

Better yet: do the lasagna thing, and plant in your compost heap after it's settled in the spring. DO NOT TILL THIS BED. You would not BELIEVE the difference: the lasagna bed I made at the community garden (second year on the site, heavy clay + detritus due to years of neglect and trespassing people) has zucchini plants taller than I am (5'2"), while the in-ground "control" plot struggles with pests and poor tilth, even with aggressive amendments. I will get around to posting pictures of the lasagna bed someday... someday... But not today.

If you don't do the lasagna thing, try to tailor your crop choices to suit your heavy soil for the first few years: stumpy or round carrots, not long ones; peas and beans; bunching onions... And don't set your expectations so high that you are discouraged from gardening organically. Consider planting parts of your garden solely with "expendable" root crops, like daikon radishes, which will send down large taproots into the soil and break it up, to be left there to rot over winter, and be tilled under in spring.

Above all: MULCH. Any exposed clay will harden and crack, and will be about as fertile as concrete.

Welcome to the boards jeff. I HIGHLY reccomend you check out the book "Square Foot Gardening" as well as checking the site's archives for articles on "Lasgna" or "permaculture" gardening. by putting down a LOT of grass (leaves, old hay, etc) now and buying a few bags of "topsoil" next year, you can get your garden off to a GREAT start. The square foot method will also make the gardening less work (especially less weeding) and more fun.