Soil Preparation

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.

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.

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.

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 fall between 6-7, but different plants will tolerate some amount of range. Larry Maxcy, author of Old-Fashioned Garden Wisdom : Tips,... (Friedman/Fairfax) makes these suggestions based on 100 square foot garden area.

"To raise your soil pH by one point add ground dolomitic limestone: use eight pounds for clay soil, six pounds for loam, and four pounds for sandy soil".

"To lower the pH level of your soil by one point add aluminum sulfate: six pounds for clay soil, six and one-half pounds for loam, and two and one-half pounds for sandy soil".

Soil testing is a fairly simple procedure. Here are a few resources to try:

Local University

Local Agricultural Extension Service

Commercial Testing Laboratory

Or you can purchase a kit of your own and perform the test yourself. A home test kit like the one pictured left 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 and container gardening. As a last resort there are wonderful books on the market like Gardening Success With Difficult Soils :... by Scott Ogden that tell which types of plants will do well in difficult soils.
 

*NPK Test Kit  Gardeners Supply   
  $17.95

-Jenna Remilard
Staff Editor