There is nothing more heartbreaking than spending your hard earned money on plants that excites you, only to watch them struggle in a poorly prepped garden bed.

Many nutritional, weed, and gross issues begin from garden beds that like good drainage, organic matter, and space while still maintaining adequate moisture. Not all plants like the exact same soil types, however, by following this guide you can create a garden suited to nearly all plants.

Don’t forget that when buying plants it is always a good idea to research what growth requirements they need, you can always modify this guide to suit later.

What you will need

– Uncoated Cardboard (staples, tape & labels removed)

– Garden Soil: enough to cover to the height of approximately 1 foot

– Kitchen Scraps (no meat, dairy, citrus, onion, or garlic), Mushroom Compost (optional), Aged Manure – Not Fresh (cow, goat, horse or chicken is best)

– Hay or Sugarcane Mulch

– Shovel

– Rake

– Black Garden Plastic

– Stone, Plastic or Chemical-free Timber Garden Edging (Optional)

Laying The Foundations

First you were going to want to plan out where to put your garden. Do the plants that you want to plant in it like full sun or part shade, or morning sun only?

Next look at how close the garden is to utilities, pipes, buildings, etc. The last thing you want is to plant on top of underground pipes and later find they are getting destroyed or blocked by the roots of the plants you’re growing. You also don’t want large trees making your house too cold in winter, causing mould issues, blocking the sun rays on solar panels, or dropping branches/leaves on anything of value.

Generally speaking most small herbs, vegetables, and low lying plants need approximately 30 cm in diameter for growing room when they’re first planted. So bare this in mind when working out how many plants you want to plant in each bed.

Once you’ve decided on your location, map out the garden bed by laying the cardboard down, covering all the exposed grass or earth you want the garden to occupy.

To make the garden look beautiful, better contain the soil, and prevent grass, weeds or plants escaping, you can add a stone, timber (be careful of termites), or heavy-duty plastic garden edging. Ensure you only use clean, chemical free materials, that are durable for outdoor Queensland use. This prevents any nasties, leaching into the soil.

Getting Dirty

Grab your shovel and let’s get our hands dirty! It’s time to fill your plan area with garden soil. You will need enough soil to fill to a depth of approximately 1 foot.

Now, it doesn’t have to be the most premium soil on the shelf, and you don’t even have to buy it if you have enough soil on your property. It does however, need to be free of weeds, rocks, rubbish, and large debris. The next steps are where the nutrients and soil structure improvements lay.

“Gross Feeding”

I first heard this term of “gross feeding” from a quaint Old-English grandmother by the name of Sally. “Basically”, she says, “what you want to do is to get all the dry manure (chicken, cow, goat, horse), you can get your hands on, and mix it up with kitchen scraps, old spent veggies or herb plants, worm soil, mushroom compost, etc, to make a “gross food concoction” that you mix into your soil that’ll make your plants happy and healthy, you knooow”.

We had a good laugh, but she was right not only was this a great way of naturally incorporating various vitamins and minerals into your soil, but it also decomposes over years, encouraging beneficial microbial activity to support plant health. This step is key.

The Hard Part

Unfortunately, good things can take some time. Once you’ve mixed together the soil and “gross food”, you will need to cover it all with a generous layer of hay or mulch, wet it down with water, before covering it all up with black garden plastic. You’ll want to fix it down with rocks or bricks so it doesn’t blow away.

It will need to stay there for at least 3 months, yes, that’s right, months. This allows heat to further cook and break down the compost, attracting beneficial worms, bacteria, fungi, and microbes. It also kills off any unwanted weeds, or grass seed so they’re less likely to pop up in your garden when you’re first planting. Besides, once you prep food, you’ve normally got to cook it, right? The same goes for garden food.

You want to periodically lift and water this mix to ensure it receives adequate moisture to aid the decomposition process.

The Long Wait Is Over

After 3 months, or longer (if you can hold out), you can remove the black plastic and set aside the hay/mulch (you’ll want to put this back on later). Rake over the garden bed so it is level, and now you can get creative, planting all your favourite plants.

Don’t forget to put the hay/mulch back around your newly planted plants (just not touching the stems), to prevent weeds and aid moisture retention.

Before you know it, you’ll have a lush and thriving garden to enjoy.

Happy Planting!

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