Suitable substrates
Various substrates have proven themselves for growing vegetables:
- Special earth
- compost
- Coconut soil
also read
- Which soil is right for the vegetable patch?
- Improving the soil in the vegetable patch - the basis for a rich harvest
- Which soil is the best for my beds?
Special earth
Special soil is precisely tailored to the requirements of the respective vegetable variety. It mostly has a coarse-grained consistency to give the plant enough hold. Many vegetable varieties are satisfied with a neutral soil with a pH value of 6-7. It should never drop below 5.
compost
You can get compost earth at your recycling center. With a little luck, the special substrate will even be given away there. This soil is free from peat, which the vegetables particularly like. In addition, by using regional compost you are contributing a lot to environmental protection, as it is a recycling product.
Coconut soil
Coconut soil is characterized by its moisture-retaining property. It is usually offered in the form of a briquette, which you can store to save space and only need to dissolve in water before use.
Note: If you are growing your vegetable plants yourself from seedlings, you should first use potting soil. This contains fewer nutrients that would damage the young plants in the early stages.
Create a vegetable patch
Prepare the soil
Vegetable plants need loose soil for healthy growth and root formation. Therefore, after you have thoroughly cleared your bed of weeds, you must dig the soil deeply before you plant the cuttings in the ground.
Do you need fertilizer?
If you use special soil or compost, your vegetables are already supplied with all the necessary nutrients. However, you should enrich conventional topsoil. Make use of organic substances for this. For example:
- Bark mulch
- compost
- Horn shavings
- or lime
Tips
An annual crop rotation prevents valuable nutrients from being extracted from the bed.
