Improving Your Garden Soil

Healthy garden soil is an important part of a successful garden

. With it plants may struggle to survive. Sandy soils are often dry and lacking in nutrients while clay soils can become compacted and remain too wet. An ideal garden soil is full of organic matter and teeming with earthworms and micro-organisms, both of which make the soil fertile.

Loam, the preferred soil for growing plants, is a balanced mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter. Adding organic matter to well drained sandy soil will increase its ability to hold water and nutrients. Hummus will also loosen hard-packed clay soil which will prevent water from collecting on the surface and allow nutrients to reach the roots of the plants.

Seasonal applications of composted organic material to the garden will ensure that the soil remains nutrient-rich and water retentive. Additions of organic material take a variety of forms.

As organic matter such as compost can be made from the decomposition of leaves, grass clippings or other garden waste. The process of decomposition releases nutrients in forms that plants can absorb. Anything organic, if left on the ground, will eventually end up as compost. Its basically a way for the earth to fertilize itself. Creating a pile for use in the garden speeds up the process, however, and results in an ideal soil additive.

Material suitable for composting includes leaves, vegetable and fruit peelings, teabags, coffee grounds, dead flowers from the house, spent bedding plants, grass clippings, annual plants from hanging baskets or containers.

Once you've started a compost pile encourage decomposition through aerating the pile. This can be done by turning the pile over with a pitchfork. You can also add straw or some fibrous material which will allow some air circulation within the pile. Turning the pile will also mix the materials, creating optimal condition for decomposition. Drier material such as oak leaves will decompose better if mixed with moist grass clippings. Counter the acidity of the pile with lime. Heat is important to kill off any weed seeds. The heat can be enhanced by covering the pile with straw or a tarp.

Use the compost as soil conditioner which will replace lost nutrients by cultivating into the garden.. It can also be used to seasonally top dress flower garden. If your garden is large and produces quite a bit of garden waste then two piles are a good option. One pile can consist of material that quickly breaks down and the other of slowly decomposing material such as twigs. Also, make one pile for the vegetable garden and the other for shrubs beds and trees.

by: John Green

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