Prepare your planting bed: I know, I know: soil prep isn’ t the fun part of gardening. However, if your soil isn’ t healthy, your plants will almost inevitably struggle all season. Save yourself a lot of frustration and get a soil test now! These are typically $ 20 through most states’ agricultural extension service and it gives actionable insight into nutrient and organic matter levels in your garden bed.

Starting seeds: Don’ t ignore the seed packet!! Certain seeds have very specific needs to trigger germination- when you start seeds at home, you are trying to mimic the environmental signals that indicate to the plant that conditions are right to produce a seedling. If you don’ t create the right environment, the seeds often will not germinate efficiently or worse yet, will rot.

Necessary( though not sufficient!) for all seeds to germinate is moisture. If you’ re starting seeds directly in the ground, water at least once a day with a gentle shower / fine spray( a more focused stream will often move or wash away the seeds and drip tubing is often not enough). An easier alternative is to start your seeds in a greenhouse, or indoors near a sunny southern-facing window or with a grow light. By germinating your seeds in a more controlled environment, you can allow the plant to develop a root system( to find water) and some leaves( to hold water) so it can tolerate less than perfect conditions( you still have to water but you have more wiggle room). get the Lead out!

If you are planning to start an edible garden in soil that you’ re not familiar with( e. g. it contains bulk fill dirt of unknown origin or you’ re starting a new garden and don’ t know how that patch of ground was treated before), get a lead test! Unlike a soil test that you send off for testing, lead test kits can be fully done at home and only take a few minutes.

Every soil test needs a tailored response, so I suggest uploading your test results and the recommendations from the testing company into your favorite AI chatbot and asking for suggestions on how to amend the soil to grow whatever you are trying to produce. This can be a great starting point followed by some more targeted research and potentially speaking with a soil specialist( reach out to the University of California Cooperative Extension if you need more help).

Almost all soil will benefit from increased organic matter— it should be above 2 %, ideally 5-10 %. Organic matter is critically important to organic gardening— it provides the food source to the soil microbes that feed plants. If your organic matter is low, work in good quality compost and enjoy healthier plants and soil that is better able to retain water! Now you’ re ready to plant!

Planting: Whether you grew it from seed or bought nursery starts, the next step is planting! Critical here is not letting your plants sit in small containers too long. Roots are meant to grow away from the main stem looking for water and nutrients- when a plant’ s roots are confined for too long, the roots start to circle around the main stem( eventually becoming“ rootbound”).( Continued...)

32 SPRING 2026 Gilroy • Morgan Hill TODAY Magazine: Go. Make history... gmhtoday. com