Soil has several important roles in gardening. It provides physical support by giving roots a place to develop and anchor plants. It holds water and nutrients necessary for plant survival. And it is full of microorganisms and insects that break down organic matter.
A garden will continually struggle if the soil it grows in lacks nutrients, is not at a preferred pH level or is composed of too much clay or sand. However, it is very easy to improve your garden soil by adding compost and other amendments.
Healthy soil is a balanced mixture of minerals, air, water, organic matter, insects, fungi and bacteria.
Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers can disrupt the balance of the living organisms in the soil, but adding organic amendments every year can help bring health and life back to this most important garden element. Your plants will flourish and be better able to fight off insects and diseases.
To determine what nutrients your soil is lacking, it is first necessary to test your soil. Test kits are available at your local garden centre. There are tests you can do yourself or others that can be sent away to a lab to be analysed.
Most plants prefer a pH level between 6 and 7. If the test results show your soil is too acid (low pH), you can add lime to adjust it. If your soil is too alkaline (high pH), adding sulphur or peat moss will help. Adjusting the pH level to the preferred level of the plants makes the necessary nutrients more readily available.
Whether you have heavy clay or light sandy soil, both types can be greatly improved by adding compost or other organic matter. For extreme soil types, it may take several years to build up a good soil -- it's not something you can add once and forget about.
Adding compost every year will greatly improve both your soil and your plants. Organic matter adds air to the soil, improves its water-holding capacity, regulates soil temperature, and supports living organisms.
A composted mixture of grass clippings, dead leaves and leftover vegetables makes a great organic soil amendment. Other organic amendments include good quality soil, well-composted animal manure, seaweed, mushroom compost and peat moss.
Organic mulches such as leaves, straw, bark and wood chips placed on the soil will prev-ent weeds, help the soil retain moisture and regulate soil temp-erature, and will decompose to become part of the soil.
