Garden Soil Preparation

Time spent in garden soil preparation is the most important thing you can do in your garden. Your plants will require less fertilizer and be less stressed.

This will help the plant ward off pests and disease.

Even though factors such as garden size, design, light exposure, and plant hardiness are very important in preparing your garden for perennials and annuals has got to be your first priority.

Research has shown that eighty percent of all plant problems are the result of poor soil.

Don't waste your time or money by trying to salvage a sickly plant by using chemical fertilizers and/or pesticides.

Perennials can double and sometimes triple in size if the first growing season if the are happy in their home environment, i.e. the soil.

Creating good soil is no easy task, but it is well worth the effort. My husband Alfred even dug up all the perennials in our perennial garden one winter and amended the soil for healthier plants.

We will be covering types of soil amendments such as

Leaf humus

Sphagnum peat moss

Composted biosolids

Mushroom compost

Composted manure

Compost

Topsoil

Gypsum

Sand

Types of Soil Amendments

The amendments listed below are usually easy to find through landscapers or at your local garden center.

Remember to always have your soil tested by your local agricultural extension service.

Leaf humus Leaf humus supplies a wide range of essential plant nutrients. You can make your own leaf humus by composting your leaves in the fall.

You may have a shade tree in your yard. If you do you're in luck. One shade tree can be worth $50.00 of plant food and humus. Pound for pound leaves contain twice as many minerals as manure.

The reason for this is the fact that trees have deep roots and are able to absorb minerals from deep within the earth. Many of these minerals go to the leaves.

The leaves also contain large amounts of fibrous organic matter which in turn improves the soil structure of all types of soil. They aerate heavy soil, prevent sandy soils from drying out too fast.

Be aware that oak leaves are acidic and maple leaves are more alkaline. Adding either one will affect the pH of your soil.

A machine called a sweeper is good for collecting leaves and it's much faster than racking.

Tip To help leaves to break down, add a nitrogen supplement like manure. A mixture of five parts leaves to one part manure works well.

If you don't have access to manure. Use a nitrogen supplement like dried blood, cottonseed meal, bone meal or Agrinite. Use 2 cups supplement to each wheelbarrow load of leaves.

For compost bins please visit www.cleanairgardening.com.

You may choose to buy humus at your local home improvement store or a landscape contractor also.

Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Peat moss is excellent for improving aeration of clay soils. This helps to increase drainage and it improves the ability of sandy soils to hold water and nutrients.

It is sterile and weed free.

When you use peat moss with compost, it helps reduce the amount of compaction that can sometimes occur when compost alone is used.

Depending on where you live, peat can take several years to break down in your soil. Compost may just take a few months. Manure only takes a few weeks.

Tip Do not confuse sphagnum peat moss with dark black peat (muck soil) which is sold and used like topsoil. this black peat is too far along in its decomposition and does not add to the improvement of your soil structure. You want bags of sphagnum peat, not the bags of muck peat.

Composted biosolids This is the "politically correct" name for composted municipal sewage sludge. Wow, who knew?

This is done big time in areas like Los Angeles but we don't hear to much about it around here. It makes a lot of sense though. With all the buzz about "going green", this is a great way to reuse our waste products and be environmentally conscious at the same time.

Studies at the Ohio State university shows a 29% increase in dry weight of perennials when grown in soils amended with composted biosolids (Smith and Treaster 1991).

Further studies at the University of Florida shows a reduced occurrence of soil-borne diseases in beans and tomatoes grown in this compost. Even grass turf has less disease when it is used.

This type of compost is high in phosphorus so supplemental phosphorus fertilizer may not be needed at bed prep time. It just depends on the quantity of composted biosolids used and the quantity of phosphorus present in your soil.

These composted biosolids supply a good level of calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and copper.

Tip According to the Organic Trade Association, using composted biosolids is completely banned in the use of organic agricultural production.

Gypsum is also known as calcium sulfate. It is most commonly used as a soil conditioner for clay soils. It improves the soil structure of certain types of clay soils found in the western U.S. It does not seem to help soils in the Midwest or East. It can remove the salt from soils.

Sand For our purposes here in the Mid South region, adding sand to clay or clay-loam soil will only make matters worse. You would need to add a lot of very course sand in order to improve your soil. Most of us are not willing to add that much sand to their soil.

Aggregates are used in perennial gardens to improve the aeration of heavy clay soils. Perlite, also known as growers grit (crushed limestone used in the agricultural industry as chicken feed) is one soil amendment option.

Mushroom compost is a byproduct from mushroom production. In my research of this material, I have seen mixed opinions.

Some say it is over-hyped, overpriced, and has low nutrient levels. It also has chemical residues left over from the farmers use of heavy chemicals to control flies and fungus gnats.

With these left over chemicals, you certainly can't use it if you are trying to garden organically unless it too is certified.

Cost We see it sold a lot for fund raisers at high prices. If you compare it to the cost of a bale of peat moss or a bale of straw, spent mushroom compost is not cost effective.

Tip You may want to ask for an analysis of the available product, including soluble salts, which can be high, and information about how it is processed. Not all products are created equal.

Bark compost is often used to improve the structure of soils. Bark compost is made up of large, coarse particles up to 2 1/2 inches in size. It will help loosen heavy clay soils.

Finer particles help bind sandy soils.

Make sure it is composted. If it isn't you will need to add supplemental nitrogen.

May inhibit root rot.

Provides few nutrients.

Composted manure is considered a great way to add nutrients, trace elements, and good bacteria to your soil.

Manure must have been composted to temperatures high enough to kill weed seeds or you will have a big mess on your hands.

All manure is not created equal. Chicken, horse, cow, swine, and sheep all offer different levels of nutrients. Horse manure with straw bedding helps hold clay particles together. We love to use a product called "black cow"

People who have used cow manure say it works great. We have used a product called "black cow" with great success .

Using well composted manure supplies many of the nutrients that help create soil fertility rather than using harsh fertilizers.

Compost This is a general term used for general homemade composts or commercial composts from mixed yard wastes.

When you realize that using home compost can divert an average of 700 lbs of material per household per year from our waste system, as Martha Stewart says "It's a good thing". It's also an excellent way to avoid wasting useful, natural resources while at the same time producing a high quality and inexpensive soil amendment.

Compost is a wonderful soil conditioner, nutrient and microbial enricher, and disease suppressor.

For wonderful resources about composting in your home, please see our resources at the end of this course.

Topsoil Technically speaking, topsoil is the first 2" of the ground. This may be fertile soil or it may not be. It all depends on the location.

Many people believe that bringing in a load of top soil and dumping it where you plan on planting your garden is all there is to amending their soil. This is far from the truth.

The problem is that there is no government or trade standards that a topsoil provider must meet.

You may find that the topsoil that you purchase is low in organic matter and nutrients. If you use it all by itself, you may be disappointed to find that it does little to improve your soil.

Sometimes it can take 10 yards of topsoil to equal the benefits in one yard of a composted material. It may also contain weed seeds and herbicide or pesticide residues if it was obtained from farm fields.

We advise knowing your supplier and ask for an analysis of the topsoil you buy.

With this information, you should be well on your way to a beautiful garden. Please let us know if you have any questions by filling out the contact form below.

For more soil prep information please visit our page on soil work for a great looking garden

You may also find our page on the facts about soils helpful.

The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, by Tracy DiSabato-Aust

Garden Soil Preparation

Types of Soil Amendments

Garden Resources