Page 94 - School Garden Development Guide - 4th Edition

Soil
Before you begin, inspect the soil. Many eastern properties are
largely composed of sandy soil, which has a high pH. This can
be remedied by adding sulfur, or by using fertilizer containing
ammonium sulfate. Contact the University of Florida/IFAS Palm
Beach County Cooperative Extension office at (561) 233-1750 for
further assistance.

To learn more about the nutrient content of your soil, send a
sample to the University of Florida soil testing lab for analysis.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/SS/SS18700.pdf

Soil for Edible Gardens
The ideal soil in which to grow vegetables has a high nutrient
content and good drainage. This means that you should have
dark soil, and loose enough, so that when it is watered, it does not
compact. Roots need to have water pass over them. They cannot
tolerate flooded soil, and will not grow well if the ground is too
hard. Soil should be a minimum of 10 inches deep for root growth.

Any soil that is purchased for use in a school garden, bagged or
bulk, should be clean topsoil with no added fertilizer, herbicides
or pesticides. Garden soil can be purchased at Home Depot and
Lowes.

Garden Bed Rotation can help to maintain soil fertility and
deter pests. As a best practice, each season rotate items planted
in garden beds and plant a variety of vegetables. An excellent
practice is to create garden bed schematics for each planting
season. This will serve as your tracker to remind you (and others)
what has been planted and where, as the seasons and the years
go by. For more information, reference this publication:
Vegetable Garden Rotation Chart
Vegetable-Garden-Rotation-Chart.pdf

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94 School Garden Development Guide - 4 EditionSchool Garden Development Guide - 4 Edition