Building Sustainable Garden Soil
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Soil OverviewSoil is one of the most critical elements for a successful garden. The old saying about a pay a penny for the plant and a dollar for the soil still holds true. Preparation of your soil and plants is key to a successful garden. Busting up clay, building up sand, and tweaking to get the pH level that plants adore takes time and preparation. Since each patch of ground is unique, there are no quick and simple answers.
Getting the right soil is a good start, but you will want to maintain your soil with the appropriate amount of nutrients, moisture and organisms such as beneficial nematoads and earthworms. By doing so, your plants will continue to thrive throughout many seasons. It's fairly easy for almost anyone to buy a plant and put it in prepared soil from a bag, but that soil will soon get spent and you will l need to replenish it. Topsoil is the surface layer of soil that in a perfect world would be comprised of decomposed plant materials. The optimal soil will have no large rocks or pebbles, will retain moisture, but drain well. There are two options to obtaining optimal soil, but a combination of both methods may put you on the fastest path to obtaining good soil. |
 Tomato cages can help support a myriad of different plants |
How to perform a soil drainage test
One of the easiest ways to ascertain the drainage capabilities of your soil is to dig a hole 2 to 3 feet deep and fill it with water. Ideally, the water should drain from the hole within about 3 hours. Much less than that and more organic matter will need to be added to slow drainage. If the water is still in the hole for more than a few hours, you will need some sort of drainage system or plants will become water logged and drown.
Making Soil
Where to start:
Many people overlook a great asset - their local county agricultural extension agent. his US nationwide service provides a wealth of educational information on agriculture. In most cases you can even take samples of your soil into your local office where they will analyze the soil for you and provide you information with how you should amend your soil. This USDA page will help you locate the office servicing your area.
Good soil qualities:
1. The soil will retain nutrients for plant roots. Primary nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). Secondary nutrients are magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulphur (S).
2. It drains neither too quickly nor too slowly, so that plants can receive water without becoming waterlogged. Nutrients are lost when excess water carriers them away - also known as soil leaching.
3. It has good texture so that the soil is firm enough to keep a plant in the ground, but is not so hard and dense that the plant roots have difficulty penetrating the soil.
4. The soil should warm slowly in the spring and cool off slowly in the autumn to avoid shocking the plants and provide the longest growing season possible.
5. A soil pH range between 5.5 and 7.5 with 6.5 being the optimum. You can buy kits to measure your soil's alkalinity and your local county extension agent may also be able to provide guidance. You'll want to take numerous samples from various places on your property and don't forget to label the samples.
6. Lots of beneficial nematodes and earthworms whom literally provide nutrition for the plants.
Understanding the type of soil you have:
1. Loam is the ideal soil. It offers good drainage, moisture retention and nutrient-holding properties. However, it is not very likely you will have this perfect soil.
2. Clay is self-binding, becomes easily waterlogged and compacted. It is often difficult for plants' roots to develop adequate roots in clay soils.
3. Sandy soils are fast draining, drought prone, nutrient poor and have minimal organisms living in them.
4. Silt is a mixture of clay and sand. They are generally water retentive once there is some moisture in the ground and are fairly fertile.
Improving your soil
Any soil can be improved. Although commercial fertilizers can be applied to assist soils with its deficiencies, these are not long-term recommended practices, it is best to improve your soil organically through mulch digging in organic matter. Mulching creates hummus and improves plants' abilities to take up nutrients. Applying compost and turning it into the soil will add important nutrients.Learn more about creating your own compost and mulching here.
Sandy soils can be improved by adding organic matter to improve water retention and thereby reduce soil leaching, while also binding soil particles. Heavy clay soils can be lightened by providing organic material and a small amount of sand or very fine pebbles. Light soil will allow organisms and earthworms to easily move through the soil.
Turning your soil
At some point you will need to turn your soil to help eradicate weeds and grasses. Conventional tilling is not recommended as it will kill beneficial organisms, it will compact the soil below the tilling layer and allow the soil to lose moisture in dry weather, thereby increasing erosion. For most small gardens, tilling with a piece of equipment is almost more trouble than turning the soil over by hand anyhow.
When turning over your soil, put your spade into the ground, remove the patch of soil and set it aside. Make a second hole, put in some of the compost and then place the dirt from the first hole, intact, into the second hole and continue with additional holes in the same manner. Do not simply churn the dirt over as many of the beneficial organisms in the soil cannot survive if exposed to sunlight.
Many people overlook a great asset - their local county agricultural extension agent. his US nationwide service provides a wealth of educational information on agriculture. In most cases you can even take samples of your soil into your local office where they will analyze the soil for you and provide you information with how you should amend your soil. This USDA page will help you locate the office servicing your area.
Good soil qualities:
1. The soil will retain nutrients for plant roots. Primary nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). Secondary nutrients are magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulphur (S).
2. It drains neither too quickly nor too slowly, so that plants can receive water without becoming waterlogged. Nutrients are lost when excess water carriers them away - also known as soil leaching.
3. It has good texture so that the soil is firm enough to keep a plant in the ground, but is not so hard and dense that the plant roots have difficulty penetrating the soil.
4. The soil should warm slowly in the spring and cool off slowly in the autumn to avoid shocking the plants and provide the longest growing season possible.
5. A soil pH range between 5.5 and 7.5 with 6.5 being the optimum. You can buy kits to measure your soil's alkalinity and your local county extension agent may also be able to provide guidance. You'll want to take numerous samples from various places on your property and don't forget to label the samples.
6. Lots of beneficial nematodes and earthworms whom literally provide nutrition for the plants.
Understanding the type of soil you have:
1. Loam is the ideal soil. It offers good drainage, moisture retention and nutrient-holding properties. However, it is not very likely you will have this perfect soil.
2. Clay is self-binding, becomes easily waterlogged and compacted. It is often difficult for plants' roots to develop adequate roots in clay soils.
3. Sandy soils are fast draining, drought prone, nutrient poor and have minimal organisms living in them.
4. Silt is a mixture of clay and sand. They are generally water retentive once there is some moisture in the ground and are fairly fertile.
Improving your soil
Any soil can be improved. Although commercial fertilizers can be applied to assist soils with its deficiencies, these are not long-term recommended practices, it is best to improve your soil organically through mulch digging in organic matter. Mulching creates hummus and improves plants' abilities to take up nutrients. Applying compost and turning it into the soil will add important nutrients.Learn more about creating your own compost and mulching here.
Sandy soils can be improved by adding organic matter to improve water retention and thereby reduce soil leaching, while also binding soil particles. Heavy clay soils can be lightened by providing organic material and a small amount of sand or very fine pebbles. Light soil will allow organisms and earthworms to easily move through the soil.
Turning your soil
At some point you will need to turn your soil to help eradicate weeds and grasses. Conventional tilling is not recommended as it will kill beneficial organisms, it will compact the soil below the tilling layer and allow the soil to lose moisture in dry weather, thereby increasing erosion. For most small gardens, tilling with a piece of equipment is almost more trouble than turning the soil over by hand anyhow.
When turning over your soil, put your spade into the ground, remove the patch of soil and set it aside. Make a second hole, put in some of the compost and then place the dirt from the first hole, intact, into the second hole and continue with additional holes in the same manner. Do not simply churn the dirt over as many of the beneficial organisms in the soil cannot survive if exposed to sunlight.
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