Question: How do I prepare the soil for my vegetable garden?

Answer: Raised beds are requirements. That means you’ll want to elevate the vegetables’ soil by 5 to 6 inches above the surrounding grade. That will ensure perfect drainage, even in the wettest of seasons. It also will allow you to incorporate 4 to 6 inches of organic matter (peat moss, bark mulch, compost, rotted manure, etc.) into the native soil. If you’re really thinking ahead and preparing your garden soil in the fall for plantings the following spring, use a glyphosate herbicide to eliminate all existing vegetation before you start tilling. If you choose a product with glyphosate as the only active ingredient, it will not contaminate the soil, in fact, those products must enter the plants through active, vigorous growth.