Gardening - Properly Preparing Your Soil For Success

Any gardening project begins with a lot of preparation work before actually place your plants into the ground. Not all soils have a proper composition suitable for plants, so one of the first tasks you need to address is the proper preparation of your soil.

The Composition of Your Soil

In preparing the soil for gardening, make sure that your garden is comprised of a well-rounded mixture of composite materials. In general, you want soil that contains a mixture of sand, silt, and clay components.

The soil should also be moist and nutrient rich, which harkens back to the point above about good soil composition. It should be neither too sandy nor too filled with clay.

You don't necessarily need to know the precise soil content, but you can get a good feel for it simply by manipulating the soil with your hands. If it feels loose and simply crumbles when you pick it up, then your sand content is likely too high.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if the soil doesn't break apart easily, you probably have too much clay in it. (You can always separate the contents of your soil by wetting a cup of soil and shaking it. Once everything settles inside the cup, the soil will be separated into its component layers.)

Balancing the Soil's Composition

If you find that the levels of clay, silt, and sand are out of balance, you can actually change the overall composition of your soil.

If the problem is too much sand or silt, add compost and peat moss to your soil. However if the problem is too much clay, then add sand and peat moss.

Peat moss is used to help the new material combine with the existing soil. It also helps to increase the moisture within the soil. If you are at a loss at how to make your soil the proper balance, you can always visit your gardening store to pick up some bags of soil to add to your garden.

Enough Water But Not Too Much

Another absolutely essential consideration to the health of your plants is water. Plants need enough water - but not too much - to thrive. Too much or too little water will kill your plants.

Gardens located at the bottom of a hill, for example, tend to collect too much water, and may drown your plants. (You do not what drowning victims in your yard!) If your garden is lower than the rest of your yard, consider a raised bed to make sure the soil in it has adequate drainage.

Maintaining your garden properly requires you pay attention to the composition and health of your soil. Be make sure your garden soil remains rich in nutrients and properly hydrated to help the plants flourish.

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