Preparing The Bed

Define the Area -

    Use a garden hose to outline the area to be dug.

• For an informal area, gentle curves work better than scallops or long, straight lines.
• Formal gardens can be done in straight lines and symmetrical shapes.
• Island beds can be a large oval or free-style  (e.g. an elongated "S" or kidney bean shape)
• Water the grass and weeds in this area to get the roots activated.
• Spray the entire area with Round-up Weed and Grass Killer according to label directions - it usually takes about two weeks to kill completely.

Digging the Bed and Amending the Soil -

• The garden area should be dug or rototilled to a depth of 12"-18"
• One quarter of the area should be organic matter such as peat moss, leaf mold (only 10%), compost, composted manure, composted bark or any combination of these plus the fertilizer components listed below.
• For heavy clay soils, add Espoma Soil Perfector.
• Consider adding natural, beneficial microbes and mychorrhizals with Espoma Bio-tone Starter products.  

For Trees and Shrubs

• Planting holes should be 2-3 times (up to 3-5 times) the diameter of the root ball or container and the same depth as the root ball or container.
• Remember, most clay soils around the home have been compacted like concrete by bulldozers. For virgin soils, the planting holes do not need to be as big.

Flower and Shrub Garden    

For each 100 square feet of garden space add the following:

                                                     Sun Garden                 Shade Garden
Espoma Plant-tone                         5-10 lbs                             -0-
Espoma Holly-tone                            -0-                               4-7 lbs
Espoma Rock Phosphate              5-10 lbs                             -0-
Espoma Triple Phosphate                 -0-                               3-5 lbs
Espoma Greensand                       5-10 lbs                          5-10 lbs
Gypsum (for clay soils)                  5-10 lbs                          5-10 lbs
Dynamite Complete Plant Food         Apply according to label directions.

Vegetable Garden     

For each 100 square feet of garden space add the following:

                                               New Garden Bed          Old Bed Moderate Fertility
Espoma Plant-tone                         10 lbs                                      5 lbs
Espoma Rock Phosphate              10 lbs                                      5 lbs
Espoma Green Sand                        5 lbs                                      3 lbs
Gypsum (for clay soils)                 10 lbs                                      5 lbs
10-10-10                                            2 lbs                                       2 lbs
Epsom Salts (do not over apply)   1/3 cup                                   1/3 cup

Till all these amendments and organic matter into the soil, rake smooth, and your bed is ready to plant.

Yearly Applications: 

For yearly applications to the flower garden, apply 4 lbs of Holly-tone or 6 lbs of Plant-tone per 100 square feet.