How to prepare and improve your garden soil

SALT LAKE CITY – On the latest KSL Greenhouse show, Taun said he gets a lot of questions on how to prepare garden soil.

“The best answer—no matter if you have sandy or clay soil—is to incorporate organic matter compost into the soil,” Taun said.

How can you tell if you need a soil amendment? Taun says you just have to assume.

The fall is a great time to incorporate your annual leaves and grass clippings. The reason is that you’ll be done gardening by then and everything will break down during the winter.

“Even in the spring, as soon as you can work the soil, you can put a compost or soil amendment into your soil,” Taun said.

Maria says this year is going to be different from other years because we’ve been getting more snow and rain.

“You don’t ever want to work the soil when it’s really wet and sticky,” Maria said.

“If you can stick a shovel into the soil and the soil sticks to the shovel… it’s too wet,” Taun said.

What you can do is start preparing. For example, Taun has already purchased potting soil for his current and future plants. He is also looking for bagged compost that he can set aside in his garage.

He recommends getting them now, so you can avoid the crowds of people who will be there in late April when the weather finally turns.

“There’s nothing wrong with getting things a little sooner so you’re prepared,” he said.

Listen to the full segment on our podcast below!

The KSL Greenhouse is on every Saturday from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. You can follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.