To often our back yard gardeners complain their soil is not good enough to grow anything. The facts are, soil has been depleted of the nutrients in most back yards and needs your help. It does not require a truck load of farmer John's barnyard manure to bring it back to life. There are many products on the market which will give your plants the nutrients they require to produce properly. The trick is to know how to use them.

The first step is to determine what you want to grow and how much space you have to grow your choices. Give each plant, or row of seeds ample space to spread out as they mature. You should allow at least 18" between a row and 24" is best.

Once you have your vegetable garden planned out, it is time to till the soil and prepare your rows for planting. This is where you can quickly give each row or plant the nutrients it needs. Instead of purchasing fifty bags of fertilizer, purchase only five or six of cow manure. If you are setting out plants, dig a larger hole and place a good shovel full of the manure into the hole. Add back in some of the garden soil and mix it together. Make a hole in this mix and set your plant into it. The roots now have a base of rich nutrients to grow in. Continue with the rest of your plants.

You will follow a similar routine when planting a row of seeds. Using your hoe, make a deep trough the length of your garden. Add the manure into the hole and then add the garden soil on top and mix it all. Set your seeds and watch them take on life in ten to fourteen days.

This method works very well for a quick way to add nutrition to your soil. In the fall, using a tiller, you till it into the soil and little by little each planting season you naturally build it up.

A second method is to always compost your kitchen scraps. Compost tumblers have come way down in price and can be found in sizes which fit any back yard. If you do not have one, simply choose a spot in your yard, or along the edge of the woods, and pile your leaves and kitchen scraps which break down easily. Turning the pile on occasion will help it turn to compost faster. Each year add this to your garden, and before you know it you will have a bountiful crop year after year.

Countrified folk can utilize Online information for country style living to find other tips and good information.