Garden Soil

By Lilliann

The first thing we need to do to have a healthy garden is analyse our garden's soil.

"An understanding of your soil is perhaps the most important aspect of
gardening. It will guide you in watering and fertilizing your plants -- in other
words, in caring for them."

"Soil is a mass of mineral particles mixed with air, water, and living and
dead organic matter. The size (texture) and and arrangement (structure) of
the mineral particles greatly influence a soil's water- and nutrient-holding
capacity, aeration, and ease of workability. The basic soil structure and
texture--together with its pH and its content of organic natter, air and nutrients--determine a soil's quality." -Western Garden Book-

Is your soil heavy (clay) or light (sand)? Clay is made up of very small particles which fit tightly together making water drain slowly and leaving less space for air to reach the roots of the plant. Sand is made up of larger particles that fit together loosly leaving plenty of room for water drainage and air to reach the roots. Clay soils tend to have more nurtrients the sandy soils because slower water drainage means less leaching. Sandy soils warm earlier than clay soils because air can penetrate more easily.

Loam is a combination of both heavy and light soils and is the ideal soil for a healthy garden.

• What is soil pH and why is it important?
  

  
  

  "Soil pH is a measurement of one aspect of the soil's chemical composition: the concentration of hydrogen ions (an ion is an electrically charged atom or molecule). The relative concentration of hydrogen ions is represented by the symbol pH followed by a number. A pH of 7 means that the soil is neutral, neither acid nor alkaline. A pH below 7 indicates acidity; one above 7 indicates alkalinity." - Western Garden Book-

  
  Most plants will grow in soil that is slightly acidic or alkaline, but some prefer it one way and others will not grow well unless the pH is just right. For healthy vegetables you will need a pH of 6 to 7. If it's too acidic nothing will grow.
  

  
  

  "Soils that are only slightly alkaline will support many garden plants. They can be made to grow acid-loving plants with liberal additions fo peat moss, ground bark, or sawdust; fertilization with acid-type fertilizers; and periodic applications of chelates." - Western Garden Book-

First 3 Steps to a Healty Garden

By Lilliann

Here is our garden in its very beginning stages. First we contacted a local dairy and arranged to have year-old manure spread on our garden spot. Next we got a friend to till. Then we spread out the irrigation system. All these steps are essential to a healthy garden.

Fertilizer is the food the plants will eat. Because we like to do our garden as much organic and the least chemical as possible, we chose manure as our fertilizer. When using manure, we make sure it's aged for at least a year. New manure will burn plants.

Tilling makes the soil soft and workable. It also mixes the manure with the soil. We till our garden spot at the beginning of each spring. Loose soil is important to allow water and air to reach the roots of the plants.

Because we live in a steppe climate where we barely get enough rain to not be a desert, and summer temperatures reach as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit, an irrigation system is absolutely necessary. We have in years past, ran water down rows. Our soil is mostly sand and sand soaks up an enormous amount of water. By the time we got the water pressure high enough to shoot the water to the end of the row, it was so high that it literally dug up everything at the first of the row. We've tried using a sprinkler, but water from a sprinkler quickly evaporates. So with water conservation in mind, a sprinkler is not the best choice. Soaker hoses seem to be the best answer. They deliver water right to the roots where it does the most good. We use black funny pipe and insert emitters right where we are going to plant each plant. Then there is no wasted water. And an extra bonus, less weeds grow because they don't get watered.