One of the first gardening books I had as a kid was some monster Q&A book of gardening from about the 1940s. I didn’t read the whole book as a kid, but kept it. Later I went back to it when I had my first garden and the soil section wasn’t all that helpful. In fact, one of the questions was, “What kind of soil is most adaptable for general gardening?” And the answer, “Any well-conditioned soil that would grow a crop of corn.”
Um? This advice is all good and fine if you know how to grow corn. Since I was a new gardener I had no flipping clue what sort of soil might grow a decent crop of corn, and frankly found the answer a little odd. Time barrier maybe? In any case, eventually I got much better gardening books and got help from other gardeners and figured out the soil issue.
If you’re thinking you have soil problems, you’ll be glad to know that you don’t have to plant a bumper crop of corn to figure it out. A lot of soil problems usually aren’t too complicated to fix. With that in mind let’s take a look back at some soil tips and ideas…
- You can often diagnose a soil problem with specific plant problems. For example yellowing of old leaves that then brown and die is one sign that your soil is lacking the proper nitrogen. See more plant issues that crop up when your soil is nutrient deficient.
- For an in-depth look at creating the best overall garden soil from the start read, 8 Steps for How to Make Better Garden Soil.
- Slow draining soil is one problem where I live (lots of rain) and plant roots slow draining soil. Water takes up too much space, won’t allow air to circulate and your plant roots will have limited room to grow. Learn to fix slow draining soil problems.
- On the flip side, if your soil doesn’t retain enough moisture you can fix this problem with proper mulching.
- You can stop soil issues before they start by protecting your soil during the winter with cover crops.
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree