Garden Soil
Why is it important to know what type of garden soil I have?
Soil is really, I don't want to be corny, but the root of the situation, because 80% of all plant problems are related to plant soil.
How do I know what type of garden soil I have?
It's really best to have the soil tested. But, if you want to do a simple test on your own, you can take a handful of soil and squeeze it together. If it breaks apart, crumbles nicely, it's usually a lone soil, which is high in organic matter. And that's an ideal soil for most plant growth. If you squeeze the soil and it holds together, almost like a clay pot would and sticks, it's very high in clay content. And that's good because it holds nutrients, however it's a poor soil for drainage. And we lose a lot of herbaceous perennials, particularly in poorly drained soils. If you take the soil, and you squeeze it together and it breaks apart, and it almost feels -- you can sometimes feel a coarseness to the texture of it. That's usually a sandy soil. Sandy soil is great for drainage, however it doesn't hold a lot of nutrients. And it's usually low in organic matter content.
What is a garden soil's 'pH level'?
pH is an indication of the alkalinity or acidity of a soil. It's important because certain plants, like Rhododendrons, Azaleas – we call these irricatious plants – prefer acidic soil, and usually do not grow well in an alkaline soil, or a soil with a high pH. Other plants – some of the Pinks or the Dianthus, Lavenders - prefer more of an alkaline soil and don't prosper as well in acidic soil.
How do I test my garden soil's pH level?
To test the pH level of your garden's soil, you're really better off doing a soil test either yourself - you can buy inexpensive soil testing kits, or it's really nice to have it done professionally. You can find out the pH of the soil, you can also find out, importantly, the organic matter content of the soil and the soil structure, if it is sand, loam or clay.
What is 'soil drainage'?
Soil drainage is what it sounds like. It's how water will drain through the soil. It's often affected, if we want to get a little more scientific, to the capillary column and the gravitational pull in the soil. It's important to have good drainage for most plants, as most plants resent poorly draining soil.
How does soil type effect water drainage?
Loam soils or soils with a sufficient amount of organic matter are usually well draining. That's ideal soil. Very few of us, I'm afraid to say, have that type of soil. I find when I speak all throughout the country and into England, no one is happy with the soil that they have. If we have a soil that's heavy in clay or it's a clay structure soil, those are usually poorly drained soils and quite challenging often for plants. Also, on the other end, if it's a very heavy sand based soil it's going to drain excessively which is also difficult for growing plants, because we lose so much moisture that there's no moisture retention for the plants to take up.
How do I determine my soil's drainage?
You can dig a 12 inch diameter hole, fill it with water, allow it to drain, fill it with water again and if it doesn't drain within an hour, you probably have insufficient drainage in that soil.
How do I ensure a well-draining soil?
What we do in clay soils where we have trouble with drainage is normally add organic amendments. The organic matter helps improve the drainage of the soil.
What is considered 'ideal' garden soil?
Ideal garden soil would really be a combination of clay, sand, and silt, and it would also be relatively high in organic matter, so it has a combination of nutrient holding capacity, it's well drained, and it has good organic matter in it to improve the soil structure and to provide nutrients.
How do I improve my garden soil?
This is the most labor intensive part of gardening, and it's the one that should take the most time because we want to have a good living soil. We don't need to come in, band aid, with fertilizers and so forth. We don't have stress on the plants, and so we want to add at least four inches of organic matter in a twelve inch profile of soil. The organic matter will help improve drainage and it helps with nutrient retention as well. I urge you to always test the soil and to see how much organic matter is already present in the soil, and how much you would need to add.