There are a seemingly never ending number of factors to keep in mind when you are looking to establish your garden, however, in our experience the most overlooked of these is exactly what type of soil your garden or yard is made up of. This is a basic cornerstone of gardening. Put simply, the elements that are found within your soil will make it either heavy, which will make the soil appear to be extremely wet and poorly drained, or light which, obviously means the exact opposite is true. Light soil is dry and will drain effectively. These factors will ultimately determine what types of plants will thrive and continue to bloom when planted in it.
To establish the chemical nature of your soil you would use the PH scale, something I am sure you are aware of, we all remember our school days waiting for the litmus paper to turn blue during those interminable science lessons. The Ph scale goes from 1-14. Below 7 (neutral), soils are progressively acid or 'Lime Free' and above neutral they are progressively alkaline (limy). You can establish what type of soil you have just by looking at the colour, feeling the texture, and observing what type of plants will grow on it or you may also do a soil test using one of the many kits that are commercially available. The best advice however, is to take a sample and visit your favourite garden centre, where your exact soil type can be established.
Dense Clay
What happens with the heavy clay soil type is that the miniscule clay particles clump together, making this type of clay soil extremely slow to drain, especially after some heavy rainfall. It can become horribly sticky and will bake rock hard in the midday sun. Thankfully this type of clay is normallyvery fertile and can be improved by putting in a a half decent drainage system, or by adding grit and some coarse organic matter. Heavy clay can be a really hard to work with, as anyone who has tried digging out a pond in high summer can testify.
Sandy Soils
This would be the complete opposite of heavy clay in that the sand particles are much larger than clay, making sandy soils wonderfully light, free draining, and quick to warm up in spring. Some plants may need irrigation and feeding, although this can be improved with adding compost or other types of organic matter.
Lime- Free (Acidic)
You may often hear it referred to as peaty, lime free soils are fairly dark in appearance and seem to be rich in organic matter. This type of soil is acidic in nature and will retain moisture quite easily, however, it can be made to be more free draining simply by adding some coarse sand.
Alkaline Or Limy Soil Types
The polar opposite of lime free soil types would be the limy or alkaline soils. They include chalk, and will often be pale in appearance and chock full of stones or rock particles. Free draining, they will warm up quickly in spring, and are moderately fertile. Like sandy soils they will benefit from the addition of organic matter.
To establish the chemical nature of your soil you would use the PH scale, something I am sure you are aware of, we all remember our school days waiting for the litmus paper to turn blue during those interminable science lessons. The Ph scale goes from 1-14. Below 7 (neutral), soils are progressively acid or 'Lime Free' and above neutral they are progressively alkaline (limy). You can establish what type of soil you have just by looking at the colour, feeling the texture, and observing what type of plants will grow on it or you may also do a soil test using one of the many kits that are commercially available. The best advice however, is to take a sample and visit your favourite garden centre, where your exact soil type can be established.
Dense Clay
What happens with the heavy clay soil type is that the miniscule clay particles clump together, making this type of clay soil extremely slow to drain, especially after some heavy rainfall. It can become horribly sticky and will bake rock hard in the midday sun. Thankfully this type of clay is normallyvery fertile and can be improved by putting in a a half decent drainage system, or by adding grit and some coarse organic matter. Heavy clay can be a really hard to work with, as anyone who has tried digging out a pond in high summer can testify.
Sandy Soils
This would be the complete opposite of heavy clay in that the sand particles are much larger than clay, making sandy soils wonderfully light, free draining, and quick to warm up in spring. Some plants may need irrigation and feeding, although this can be improved with adding compost or other types of organic matter.
Lime- Free (Acidic)
You may often hear it referred to as peaty, lime free soils are fairly dark in appearance and seem to be rich in organic matter. This type of soil is acidic in nature and will retain moisture quite easily, however, it can be made to be more free draining simply by adding some coarse sand.
Alkaline Or Limy Soil Types
The polar opposite of lime free soil types would be the limy or alkaline soils. They include chalk, and will often be pale in appearance and chock full of stones or rock particles. Free draining, they will warm up quickly in spring, and are moderately fertile. Like sandy soils they will benefit from the addition of organic matter.
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