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Soil is foundational to every garden. Every healthy, productive yard and garden starts with healthy, productive soil. Preparing the soil properly makes more difference than any other thing you can do. You cannot put on enough fertilizer and water to make up for poor soil.
Since soils are so different in different areas, it is necessary to know what soil is, what your soil is like and what to add to improve it.
MINERAL
The mineral component is non-living material. It is divided by the size of the particles, into:
Sand: Rounded particles 1/12 to 1/500 inch (2.0 to 0.06 millimeters) in diameter.
Silt: Rounded particles 1/500 to 1/12,500 inch (0.06 to 0.002 millimeters) in diameter.
Clay: Flattened particles less than 1/12,500 inch (0.002 millimeters) in diameter.
Loam: Mixture of the above in roughly equal proportions.
Sand has large spaces between the particles, which allow air and water to move easily, so sand has good aeration and drainage. Clay packs down with only tiny spaces between particles so there is poor aeration and drainage. However, clay has about 100 times the surface area as the same volume of sand. More surface area means that clay will hold more water and more nutrients. Silt has some of the qualities of both sand and clay. Loam combines the best features of all three: aeration, drainage and storage capacity for water and nutrients. Often, soil particles are clumped together into crumbs, which create large spaces between the crumbs for aeration and drainage. Pebbles and rocks also increase drainage; sometimes so much that plants wilt from lack of water. Rocks also may interfere with root growth.
WATER
The amount of water in the soil is described in these ways:
Saturated: All of the spaces in the soil are filled with water.
Field capacity: Excess water has drained away leaving a film of water on each particle and air in the spaces.
Wilting Point: The film of water on each particle is so thin that roots can no longer pull enough water from the soil, so the leaves droop.
Plants grow best when the soil is at field capacity. Frequent watering in controlled amounts on well-drained soil to maintain field capacity has doubled vegetable yields. However, it takes careful monitoring and controlled watering to maintain field capacity so usually soil is watered to near saturation and the excess is allowed to drain away.
AIR
Air in the soil is made of the same gases as the air in the atmosphere. Air doesn’t move as freely in the soil so there may be too much or too little of certain gases in parts of the soil. Plant roots need oxygen to absorb water and nutrients. The lack of oxygen limits how deep roots can grow. Roots may grow thirty feet deep in well-drained sandy soil, but most roots are in the top foot of clay soil. Oxygen is replenished in the soil when water forces the air out of the soil, then fresh air is pulled back into the soil as the water drains away. Large spaces between soil particles and crumbs allow soil to breathe better. Deep watering helps the soil breathe much better than frequent, shallow watering.
Bacteria and fungi extract nutrients from the soil minerals and make them available to plants. Mycorhizae are fungi that are partly in the soil and partly inside plant roots. They can transport a very large amount of nutrients into plant roots. Insects and worms create air passages deep into the soil. The carbon dioxide produced by roots becomes carbonic acid, which breaks down minerals to make nutrients available. Dead organic material provides rich nutrients for the living. It also holds the nutrients from applied fertilizers until the plants can use them. Humus sticks the soil particles into larger crumbs so there are bigger spaces for air and water.
Dead organic matter is decaying continually, so it needs to be replenished every year. Excessive nitrogen fertilizer will cause the dead organic matter to decay even faster; so more organic matter will have to be applied. Also, careless use of pesticides may harm or kill the living organisms and damage the soil.
Nitrogen encourages leaf growth. Phosphorus encourages roots and flowers. Potassium encourages general vigor. If one of these nutrients isn’t available, then plant growth will be slower or stunted, and leaves will be discolored. For example, lack of nitrogen causes the old leaves to turn yellow. Lack of iron causes the new leaves to be yellow. Nutrient deficiencies will form patterns on the leaves that follow the vein patterns: sometimes along the veins, sometimes between the veins. Disease symptoms don’t follow the veins.
Soil laboratories will test soils for nutrients as well as pH and organic matter. However, a general recommendation is: All soils are short on nitrogen; shallow rooted plants such as lawns and flowers need extra phosphorus and potassium; iron and sulfur are often deficient, especially around acid loving plants. Usually, the soil contains enough of the other nutrients, although some may be deficient in certain parts of the country. Boron is sometimes deficient in the Pacific Northwest.
Fertilizers are available to provide extra nutrients. The exact numbers aren’t as important as the proportions. A 5-5-5 fertilizer works the same as a 15-15-15, except that it takes three times as much 5-5-5 to provide the same nutrients. The optimum fertilizer for lawns has an N-P-K ratio of 3-1-2, such as a 15-5-10. Fertilizers with similar ratios are interchangeable, except that some fertilizers, such as rose food, contain lime to raise pH and some fertilizers, such as rhododendron-azalea food, contain sulfur to lower pH.
The nutrients are identical whether they come from organic or synthetic sources, but the source will affect how fast the nutrients are available to plants. Ammonia sulfate and water soluable fertilizers release most of their nitrogen in a few days and may burn plants if too much is applied at one time. Blood meal releases its nitrogen over a period of months. Organic fertilizers and specially treated synthetic fertilizers are slow release so they won’t burn and the nitrogen won’t wash away in the rain before plants can use it.
When fertilizing trees or shrubs, spread the fertilizer evenly from the trunk to twice the length of the branches. There are feeder roots throughout the area, not just at the drip line. Water-soluble fertilizers can be applied to the leaves since they will absorb directly. This will green up the leaves, but it doesn’t encourage growth.
For flower bulbs and root crops, the soil should be double dug to fifteen to eighteen inches deep. Double digging involves digging up the top eight inches of soil and piling it to the side of the hole. Soil amendments are spread in the hole and worked into the lower eight inches. Then amendments are added to the piles of soil as they are shoveled back into the hole.
Soil should be worked when it is moist but not wet. Wet soil will be packed into hard clods, which are about like rocks. To check the soil for dampness, squeeze a handful of soil into a ball, then push your thumb into the ball. It should crumble, not dent like modeling clay. Dry soil is harder to work and the soil disintegrates into dust. Dust will turn into mud when watered, then dry like brick. Dry soil should be watered well then allowed to soak in for a day before tilling.
Soil should not be worked into dust. Leaving marble-sized to golf ball-sized clumps with give better aeration and drainage. Besides destroying the structure of soil, over working soil also kills off the mycorhizae which are beneficial fungi which help move nutrients from soil into roots. Roto-tilling may be required to incorporate amendments into the soil but more mycorhizae will survive if the soil is loosened with a spading fork. Simply stomp the tines into the soil and tilt back the handle to lift and fracture the soil.
Sharp sand or Mason’s sand creates spaces much better than river sand, which has rounded edges and packs down tighter. Profile Soil Conditioner is even better, since it is porous so it holds both water and nutrients. Compost is made of partially decomposed yard debris, bark dust, sawdust, manure or other organic matter. Fresh organic matter can also be used, but extra nitrogen fertilizer will be needed to help it decompose. Fresh manure may contain too much uric acid, which can burn roots. It is best if manure is aged for at least six months.
The best and easiest time to improve soil is to do an entire area at once, such as when planting a new lawn or landscape. The amendments should be spread evenly over the area and worked into the soil at least ten inches deep. A spade or spading fork works best for small areas. A roto-tiller handles large areas. For existing beds, the soil can be improved every time something is planted. A planting hole should be at least three times as wide as the root ball and about the same depth. Mix soil amendments evenly with the soil from the hole. I always shovel the soil into large plastic pots or a wheelbarrow to make it easier to mix the soil, and the soil isn’t lost into the grass or mulch.
In mostly flat yards, subsurface drainage may have to be provided. Perforated plastic drainpipe can be buried about a foot deep. It is important that drainpipes slope evenly so dirt doesn’t clog up the low spots. Drain pipes can drain into down spouts if allowed by local building codes.
Aeration can be improved on existing lawns and beds without tearing up the soil. Sod core aerators cut out plugs of soil and leave holes about six inches apart and four inches deep. Root feeders can be used around trees and shrubs to create holes eighteen inches deep. These holes allow air and water to quickly penetrate deep into the soil. The holes will stay open much longer if sand or Profile Soil Conditioner is raked into the holes to fill them.
More information can be found on my webpages:
Landscape Design |
Improving Soil |
Plant Nutrients |
Planting in Clay Soil |
Roses
Edible Landscaping |
Fruit Tree Tips |
Planting a Vegetable Garden |
Lawn Care |
Pest Control
Pruning for Shade, Flowers and Fruit |
Seasonal Pruning Guide |
Remove Trees Roots and All
Fall Planting |
Water Wise Gardening |
Winter Plant Protection
House Plants |
Plant Propagation
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