Garden Soil

Having a spare land is not the only prerequisite for growing a vegetable garden or a flower garden. In fact, you need to have a fertile, well-drained garden soil to get the best results from your gardening project. The regular plant varieties can tolerate a narrow range of soil parameters, but they do not perform in extreme cases, like that of brackish soil, dry soil, highly acidic or alkaline soil. So, a preliminary step for healthy maintenance of garden plants is to understand the basics of garden soil condition.

Garden Soil Basics

Nobody needs a reminder that plants require sunlight, nutrients, air, water and other factors for healthy growth, development, flowering and fruiting (whichever applicable). Excluding sunlight, they derive water, air and nutrients through the soil medium. So, you can imagine the importance of soil science in growing healthy plants. Some basic information about garden soil that you ought to know are:

• Any type of soil is a mixture of rocks and minerals, like silt, clay, loam and sand, which are held together by humus soil. And garden soil types are classified in accordance to the ratio of these components. Say for example, a sandy soil contains sand grains in larger amounts, as compared to the remaining minerals.
• In between the soil particles, a group of organisms are present, which collectively make up the soil biota. They may include earthworms, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, parasites and other soil microbes. Thus, many a time, the soil is considered as a living thing.
• The inert minerals serve as the support media, but it is actually the organisms that contribute to soil fertility and provide essential plant nutrients. If there have been no microbes, the organic compounds will remain as they are, and the plants will be deprived of nutrients.

Garden Soil Testing

So, you have been planning to start a vegetable garden soon, and are not sure about your garden soil condition? Basically, the test involves checking the soil pH. You can purchase a soil testing kit from a garden supply store, and go through the instructions. It usually comes with a testing solution, small container and color chart. All you need to do is put some soil from your garden in the container, add specific amount of solution (in drops) and mix for some time. Then, match the color of garden soil mix with that of the chart to find out the pH value. Another alternative is to collect soil samples and send them to centers that provide soil pH test facility for minimal charges.

Garden Soil Problems

The best garden soil conditions are water draining properly, moisture retention, loose or crumbly soil particles, rich in organic matter and presence of soil microbes. The fertility of soil differs significantly from one plantation area to another. While soil preparation is a must before planting crops or flowers, there are some garden soil problems that negatively affect the plants. List of common soil problems are:

• Waterlogged soil
• Compacted and heavy soil
• Absence of air space between soil particles
• Water draining problem
• Dryness and no water retention
• Low microbial count
• Less organic matter or humus
• Deficiency of plants nutrients
• Highly acidic soil
• Highly alkaline soil
• Presence of excess salt
• Capping of the soil surface
• Presence of soil-borne disease causing microbes

Garden Soil Preparation

As far as improving garden soil is concerned, the desirable soil components and nutrients depend on which type of garden you are planning to grow. For a vegetable garden, moist, well-drained soil with its texture similar to loam is proven to be productive for most vegetables. For a garden with sandy loam like soil type, supplementing organic compost and peat moss help in retaining moisture for healthy growth of plants. Too wet (clay) and too dry (sandy) garden soil requires additional work prior to vegetable gardening. Similarly, follow garden soil preparation for starting a flower garden to induce development of maximum blooms.

No doubt, different plants perform well in a specific range of garden soil pH. But, majority of them tolerate the near neutral range, i.e., 6.5-7. Avid gardeners prefer conducting soil testing procedure once in every three years to check any changes in the soil pH levels. Likewise, you can proceed with the garden soil test for the remaining parameters (nutrients, organic matter, water drainage, texture, etc.) and do the necessary soil corrections for ensuring luxuriant growth of plants.