In order to grow successfully, your plants need good soil. This includes the right drainage, pH balance, and conditions. Without good soil, valuable time and investment will probably be lost. Since most soils need some amount of improvement, here are some things you can do to help them along.
Determining soil type
Adding organic matter to imperfect soil is a good start to correcting the problem. Organic matter can take on as many forms as the gardeners that apply them.
Some of the more common include pasteurized animal manure, peat, compost, and decomposed leaves. You can either work your soil by hand or machine to a depth of a minimum of one foot. If you are working with sod, be sure to shake off any soil then discard the sod to a compost pile so it won't reroot. Generously begin to cut in your organic matter.
Testing soil
Having soil that drains well and retains moisture will not help if the soil pH is way off the charts. Soil can be alkaline, neutral or acidic. The pH range starts at 1 (highly acidic) and ranges to 14 (highly alkaline). Most plants prefer the level between 6 and 7, but different plants will tolerate some amount of range.
Good soil should have the ability to drain well while retaining moisture. There are generally three categories that soil will fall into: clay, sand, and loam. Most are a combination of the three, but loam is the one to strive for. To determine which category your soil falls into, take a handful of wet soil and squeeze it in the palm of your hand. If the soil forms a tight ball it has too much clay. Water has difficulty permeating clay soil and will sit on top for long periods. If the soil remains loose and slips through your fingers, even when wet, it has too much sand. Sandy soil has difficulty retaining water. If the soil tightens slightly but will easily break up with little prodding, it is loam.
Soil testing is a fairly simple procedure. Here are a few resources to try:
Or you can purchase a kit of your own and perform the test yourself. A home test kit will test for ph, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium content.
In some cases improving your soil is just not cost effective. If you find that the cost of adding organic matter and correcting the pH balance far exceeds what you are willing to contribute, don't give up yet. There are other alternatives like raised bed gardening nd container gardening. As a last resort, there are wonderful books on the market that tell which types of plants will do well in difficult soils.
Soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. The number you get when you test your soil's pH can tell you whether your plants are likely to thrive in your garden spot or not. Luckily, if the answer is no, there are ways to change your soil's pH and make your garden into a more hospitable environment for your vegetables, flowers and lawn. |
 | Plants make their own food, but they sometimes need a helping had from fertilizer. By conducting a soil test and knowing how to read a fertilizer bag, you'll be able to make choices that benefit your plants instead of harming them. |
 | The types of soil in your garden are a key element in whether it succeeds or fails. |
 | |&&|Sandy soil quickly loses water and nutrients. Learn which plants will thrive in these challenging conditions. |
Soil texture plays an important role in the success of your garden. Learn what you can do to identify your garden soil texture. |
