Well-Loosened Most gardeners know that our garden plants really suffer in deeply compacted soil. This is one of our reasons for tilling each season. We till to destroy weeds and turn vegetation into the soil, sure, but we also till to loosen the soil. We all know this intuitively. We’d Read more
Well-Drained Well-drained soils allow water to seep through and drain to the deeper water table. They also keep plants from partially suffocating or even completely drowning after massive rains. What we want, as gardeners, is evenly moist soil, not waterlogged soil. Well-drained soil accomplishes this, even after heavy downpours. We Read more
Full of Organic Matter Even those who know the importance of the organic matter in our soil might not know all of its benefits. There are many! Organic Matter’s Origins First, where does the organic matter in our soil come from? Organic matter in our garden soil comes from all Read more
Rich In the past, to gain richness, gardeners and farmers have typically added plenty of macronutrients to their soil—the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) found in most fertilizers—for their plants to grow large. However, they haven’t always taken into account the availability of micronutrients that make plants truly healthy and Read more
Perfect Soil Perfect soil: Deep. Rich. Full of organic matter. Well-drained. And well-loosened. It’s a gardener’s dream. Deep. We all have a line where our topsoil meets our subsoil. It’s where, as you dig, the soil changes color, usually from a darker brown or black to lighter brown, brownish-red, tan, Read more
A Gardener’s Relationship with Soil As gardeners, we feel like we grow plants. But we don’t. At least, that’s not the whole picture—or even the most important part of it. The wisest insight green-thumbed gardeners possess is knowing they don’t grow plants; they grow soil. Plants are merely a byproduct, Read more
Building Healthy Soil by Adding Organic Matter and Loosening It As we’ve seen, healthy soil is rich, full of organic matter, well-drained, well-loosened, and deep, but how do we create such soil in our garden beds? We add these things ourselves. While rich and full of organic matter or well-drained Read more
An Introduction to Amazing Soil There is absolutely nothing like soil. Its rich smell—sent north on the breeze on a late-winter day when deep in our souls we’re longing for the joys of the sun on our skin and the unmitigated smiles of peace that come unbidden while sitting on Read more