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The Basics of Garden Soil

Are you a gardener that can’t wait to get out and garden? If so, then a great chore for the early spring is to work on improving your garden soil.
soil

Are you a gardener that can’t wait to get out and garden? If so, then a great chore for the early spring is to work on improving your garden soil. Soil is one of the most important elements of your garden, which means that it is worthwhile spending a little bit of time learning all about soil.

Gardeners will often have problems with how their soil “handles”. At one extreme you have a heavy clay soil, that is sticky when wet, and like concrete when dry. This soil type needs a jack hammer in July in order to harvest the carrots. The other extreme is the “beach sand” soil that needs constant watering and fertilization and still can’t grow a good garden. These “handling” problems all relate to soil texture. Spring is a great time to reevaluate your soil texture and improve it!

Soil texture is determined by the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay found in a given soil. The term “texture” refers to the size of the individual soil particles and has nothing to do with the organic matter that is present in the soil. 

Sand is gritty to the touch, and the individual soil particles can be seen with the naked eye. A soil in which sand predominates is termed a sandy soil. Sandy soils are quite coarse in texture. A sandy soil warms up quickly in the spring, and drains easily and quickly after a rain. However, a sandy soil has a lower moisture and nutrient holding capacity and must be watered and fertilized more frequently.

Silt is smooth and slippery to the touch when wet, and the individual particles are much smaller than sand. Silt particles can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. A silty soil contains relatively large amounts of silt.

Clay is sticky and plastic-like to handle when wet. The individual particles are extremely small and can only be seen with the aid of an electron microscope. Clay soils are rich in clay and fine in texture. Clay soils warm up very slowly in spring and drain very slowly after a rain. A clay soil has a high moisture and nutrient holding capacity and therefore needs to be watered and fertilized less frequently. Clay soils are difficult to work with if the moisture content is not “correct”. They tend to crust and crack when drying which impedes root penetration and prevents seedling emergence. Clay soil tends to compact more easily due to the small size of the soil particles.

Determining your soil texture will help you to determine what it is your soil needs to improve its workability and therefore its ability to provide you the gardener with the splendor of gardening success. A loam soil is the soil of choice for horticultural purposes. A loam soil contains equal amounts of sand, silt and clay. It is the preferred soil texture because of its ease of workability. 

If you have not been blessed by having the perfect loam soil – there is hope. Both sandy and clay soils can be dramatically improved by a generous addition of organic matter. Organic matter such as compost or well-rotted manure is ideal as an additive to any soil type. Spread a layer of organic matter 10 to 20 cm deep on the soil surface. Thoroughly incorporate it into the existing soil. A good workable soil base will help you to enjoy the gardening season!

Check out our gardening workshops coming up as well as all the news on our Junior Master Gardener Summer Kids Camps at www.saskhort.com

Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at growyourfuture@gmail.com

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