It doesn't matter whether you’re planting out a vegetable garden, sowing a new lawn or planning a decorative border; taking some time to make sure that you prep the soil, and the space, that you intend to plant in will always be beneficial. Simple, straightforward tasks like turning your soil will help you to head off an awful lot of common problems further down the line, and taking the time to carry out more complicated processes, like rebalancing the pH of your soil, will pay dividends later on too -  when your plants are flourishing, vigorous and green.

Keeping track of beneficial soil prep can be complicated though; there’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s important that it’s carried out in the right order too. To help you, we’ve put t...

When trying to determine the quality of soil, there are a great many aspects to consider - from its nutrient content right through to its physical composition. The pH level of your soil is also very important. pH is a measure of potential hydrogen, or, in layman’s terms, acidity, and the degree to which your soil could be considered acid or alkaline really does affect everything from the type of plants that will thrive in it, to the availability of magnesium, and other essential nutrients.

Unfortunately, a lot of people neglect to consider the pH of their soil when evaluating its suitability; working out which plants they want to grow come spring without pausing to consider whether or not their choices are ideally suited to their soil. This ...