Taking a soil sample . . .

does not take long and is easy to do. To take your soil sample, you will need a clean bucket, a clean garden trowel, a clean container, and newspaper.

Before we begin taking the soil sample , remember soil tests are only as good as the tools used to collect them. Make sure your spade and bucket are thoroughly clean or your results may be worthless. Forgetting to wash out a bucket that once held lime or pool chlorine or other strong chemical can skew test results. This mistake can cost you money and time spent choosing the wrong plant. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tips To Help You Solve Soil Problems

Soil problems occur when your soil’s ph level is either too high or too low, when the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is incorrectly balanced or when you have improper soil drainage. Testing your soil (explanation found in previous post) was your first step. Now you have received the results of these soil sample tests, and you are ready to identify a soil problem solution. These tips will help you identify a ph solution as well as what to do if you must remedy your soil for proper drainage .

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When flower gardening, you must recognize your soil and know how to prepare it accordingly. This article explains how to do this so you can better prepare your soil before planting your seeds.

For flower gardening, the goal is to loosen earth that has become compacted, and to condition or recondition the soil by replenishing vital minerals and nutrients to promote healthy vigorous growth.

This is best done after the winter rains or frost but before the summer growing season has started. However you can recondition any time the ground is not too wet or frozen to till.

Different Types Of Soil

A clay or heavy clay soil greatly benefits from the addition of organic material. You can never add too much.

Because of its particles’ size and shape, clay tends to become compacted and will drain slowly or not at all. The heavy compact nature of clay tends to prevent air from reaching the roots — thus slow plant growth .

Combining a generous amount of organic material with clay can offset its tendency towards compaction and improve drainage while still maintaining moisture.

A good ratio of clay soil to organic material is roughly 50/50.

Sandy soil, the opposite of clay, generally drains too fast, and is unable to hold onto any nutrients long enough for a plant to use them.Organic matter helps to hold onto water and nutrients, so it’s almost impossible to add too much.

A higher ratio of organic material to sand is good as the organic matter tends to break down faster due to faster drainage (more oxygen).

Clay and sand are at the opposite end of the soil type spectrum. Most gardens are somewhere in the middle. When flower gardening, the addition of organic material in any type of soil greatly improves your garden’s performance.

Organic material can be peat moss, shredded bark, composted or decomposed plant material, some form of manure (generally cow manure), or even worm castings or rice hulls.

Potting soil may have little or no actual “dirt” in it. Organic material helps maintain moisture content levels, increase biological activity, and prevent soil compaction.

Once you have determined what type of soil you have, you must prepare your soil for planting. Preparing your soil is explained in the next blog post.

Author: Bill Watson
For Bill Watson’s Bio, click here
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Happy Gardening!

Marcie

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Creating The New Garden, Your First Backyard Garden, is easy to do.

Many vegetable and flower gardening beginners are not quite sure what is important when determining where they should set up the new garden. If you follow these step-by-step gardening tips, you should soon have the ideal gardening spot ready to plant your seeds.

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Why Study a Gardening Zones Chart?

Why is it important to Know Your climate zones? With spring comes planning and planting, and the most important question is “What can I Plant?” Before you even consider buying, study your zone chart and find out your plant zone number.

Do you live in the northern, southern, eastern, or western part of North America? Are your winters harsh? Are your summers scorching hot? What plants/trees will withstand your type of weather? Most plant tags feature a zone number to indicate the plant’s hardiness, that is, its ability to survive certain conditions. Read the rest of this entry »

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