Healthy soil is the secret to a successful garden. Just like you need nutritious food to grow and thrive, your plants need healthy soil to produce beautiful flowers, delicious vegetables, and strong roots.
Once youve got healthy soil, keeping it that way is mostly about maintaining a desirable environment for the many creatures that live there. Here are some of the ways to keep your soil healthy. Allow leaves to decompose in the garden.
Garden Help > Monthly TipsGood nutrient balance makes healthy garden soils. It is beneficial to get soil tested by a state-certified laboratory. Below is a collection of our monthly tips that relate to garden soils.To-dosWhat to PlantTo-do: SoilBone Meal for Bulbs?Clean Garden BedsCover CropsMulch Bare…
Photo: Lukas, Pexals Soil is a naturally occurring mixture of inorganic and organic ingredients with a definite form, structure, and composition, that varies from one location to another.
Garden Help > How To A note about soil testing: if your plants are growing well, you may not have to worry about it. However, from the Master Gardener Handbook 2nd Ed.
Garden Help > How To Many potting soils become hydrophobictending to repel waterwhen they dry out, and are difficult to re-wet. Gardeners may see water draining out the bottom of a pot and assume that means that the soil is saturated.
Composting is the process of turning kitchen and yard waste and other organic materials into a decomposed soil amendment. It is a natural process that provides beneficial microbes and is a key ingredient in organic gardening and farming.
Credit: UC ANR A soil amendment is any material added to soil to improve its physical properties, such as water retention, permeability, drainage, aeration, and structure. They can also be used to modify soil pH. There are lots of different materials available you can use to improve your soil.