Home Improvement Services
	Gardening Services
	Pool Services
	Tips and Advice
	Postcode List
	Contact Us
	Tell a Friend
	Bookmark Page
	List Your Business

Create Healthy Soil For Your Garden

Few people are lucky enough to have perfect soil in their gardens. The most common complaints include soil with too much clay in it, soil that is too sandy, soil that has too many stones in it, and acidic soil. While many people suffer from these problems, there are steps you can take to make your soil more plant friendly.

Once you understand the components of healthy, plant-friendly soil, the process is relatively simple.

Soil is composed of the matter found in the area; a collection of decomposed plants (organic matter), weathered rocks and minerals, combined with water and air. The elements of your soil are affected by where you are situated; coastal areas will find a higher level of sand in their soil, and rocky areas may see high clay levels.

The most important elements in healthy soil are the organisms (worms, grubs, insects, microbes and small animals). These only thrive when the other soil elements are in balance. Organisms can be a good indicator for you to measure the condition of your soil.

Soil Elements:

Minerals: good percentage of your soil is constituted from small bits of weathered rock which has been broken down over time by the continual onslaught of wind, rain, freezing, thawing and other forces of nature. The initial type of rock may also effect how the rock has been broken down, and other chemical and biological processes that may have occurred. This results in different sized mineral particles.

Soil type is usually classified by the size of the mineral particles:

• Sand (large particles)
• Silt (medium-sized particles)
• Clay (small particles)

The proportion of these three types of particles (sand, silt and clay) establishes the texture of your soil. Soil texture affects drainage and the nutrients found inside the soil. This can determine how plant-friendly your soil is.

Organic Matter: Partially decomposed plants (including grasses, leaves, trees, mosses and other vegetative matter) and soil organisms (worms, grubs, insects and small animals) make up the organic matter found in soil. This is essential element for healthy soil, even though it only constitutes a small fraction (roughly 5 to 10 percent) of the overall soil content.

Organic matter binds the soil particles together into porous granules that allow air and water to move through the soil. It also retains moisture, and helps to store nutrients in the soil. These nutrients provide food for micro-organisms, and other soil life-forms.

To increase the amount of organic matter in your soil you can add any of the following:

• Compost
• Manure
• Peat
• Mulches

Add this to the top layer of your soil, as this is where your plants will root, and where most soil life-forms are found.

* Helpful Hint: When making compost or mulches, be wary of using too much high carbon material (e.g. straw, sawdust, woodchips). The micro-organisms that will break these materials down use a lot of nitrogen whilst digesting these materials, and could lead to your soil lacking nitrogen.

Soil Life-Forms:

There are a number of different organisms that can be found in healthy soil: Earthworms, mites, nematodes, protozoa, bacteria and fungi are some of the more common organisms. These life-forms are essential for healthy plant growth. These organisms convert minerals and organic matter into vitamins, hormones and nutrients that plants need to grow. In addition to this, the excretions from soil life-forms help to keep the texture of the soil loose and crumbly, helping to mix the nutrients through the soil, and help with drainage. That is why a good gardener knows to befriend the earthworm. Providing life-forms with food (organic matter), air and water (making sure not to over-hydrate) can encourage organisms to inhabit your soil.

Air:

Healthy soil should have an air content of 25%. As mentioned earlier, life-forms need 25% air in the soil to survive. Air also provides much of the nitrogen that plants need from the soil to grow. Good soil has lots of space between the individual particles that allow space for air. The smaller the particles (for instance with clay), the smaller the spaces between particles. This can cause a problem for aerating the soil to a sufficient level to maintain life. Soil mainly composed of larger particles (like sand) has lots of space between the soil for air, however too much air causes the organic matter to decompose too quickly.

To create a balanced supply of air in your soil, make sure that you add lots of organic matter to your soil, and avoid compressing the soil. Avoid stepping in the earth where you would like grow plants, using heavy equipment (as this can also damage the air content of your soil) and tilling the earth when it is wet.

Water:

In addition to air, healthy soil also needs around 25% water content. This will help to sustain your plants, and the organisms in the soil. Like with air, the soil should have spaces between the particles to provide good drainage allowing water to move through the soil. However, if the spaces are too large, the water will drain through the soil to the subsoil, which is why sandy soil dries out very quickly. Small particles allow water to climb back up to the soil surface through a capillary process. If the particles are too small (with clay) then the water completely fills the spaces between particles, pushing all the air out. This “drowns” both organisms living in the soil, and plants.
/p> To prevent “water-logging” in your soil, you should combine large and small particles. In addition to this, adding organic matter helps improve water retention, as they absorb water until it is needed by the plant roots.

Balancing the Elements:

All soil has a combination of the five different elements mentioned above. By balancing these components, you can dramatically improve the health and productivity of your soil.

Soil Type:

As mentioned above, there are large (sand), medium (silt) and small (clay) particles in your soil. Soil type identifies the percentage of the different particles in your soil. Balanced levels of these particles provide healthy soil. However if the levels are unbalanced, your soil can be categorised into three types of soil; Sandy Soil, Silty Soil, and Clay Soil.

Identifying Your Soil Type:

Before you can balance you soil and increase the productivity of your garden, you first need to identify what type of soil you have. Follow these simple steps to test your soil:

Step1: Get an empty jar and fill it one-third full with top soil.
Step2: Fill the rest of the jar with water and shake well.
Step3: Leave jar for 24 hours for all the soil articles to settle.
Step 4: Check the settles layers of soil in the jar. The soil inside the jar should settle according to their particle size – you should see the Sand layer appear on the bottom (as these have the largest (in other words, heaviest) particles, followed by a different coloured layer of silt particles, and lastly, the finest clay particles appearing on the top. These layers should be distinctive, and will give you an indication of your soil content.

Layers are evenly balanced = Healthy Soil
Bottom layer is much larger than other layers = Sandy Soil
Middle layer is much larger than other layers = Silty Soil
Top layer is much larger than other layers = Clay Soil

How To Improve Sandy Soil: Add compost or mulch to your top soil, to increase the organic matter. This will also help increase the water-retention of your soil, helping your plants. Make sure to add at least 2 inches of organic matter to your top soil every year.

How To Improve Silty Soil:

Add at least one inch of organic matter (compost or mulch) every year. Concentrate on the surface of your soil to avoid crusting. Avoid walking on your soil to prevent compacting the soil and reducing the amount of air. You can consider using raised beds, where you can add a layer of sand beneath your top soil.

How To Improve Clay Soil:  Keep tilling of your soil to a minimum, and avoid walking on the soil where you will plant. Add 2 inches of compost or mulch initially, and add another one inch every year after that. Permanent raised beds will improve drainage and help with any flooding.

Soil pH: Soil pH Levels:

In addition to checking the type of soil you have, you should also check the pH of your soil. This will test the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. The test involves the hydrogen and hydroxyl ions present in your soil. When the hydrogen and hydroxyl content is equal, then the pH level is neutral (pH7). Higher levels of hydrogen ions means that the soil is acidic (pH1 to pH 6.5). Higher levels of Hydroxyl ions means alkaline (pH 6.8 to pH 14).

Most plants grow best in soil with pH levels of 6.5 to 6.8. If your soil pH level is much higher or lower, this can effect the growth of your plants. Plants will be unable to absorb a sufficient level of nutrients from the soil, as these nutrients will become bound chemically to the soil particles, making them inaccessible to your plants.

If you have Acidic Soil:

Soil with a pH level under 6.5 may be too acidic for most garden plants (although some plants, like azaleas, like acidic soil). To raise the pH of your soil to a level between 6.5 and 6.8, you can add powdered limestone. If you are uncertain how to apply limestone to your soil, you can get a professional to check your soil pH level and apply this for you. Please remember that even once the limestone has been added to your soil, it will take several months to effect the pH levels of your soil. Another way to raise your pH level is to add Wood Ash. This will work more quickly, however practice caution when adding this to your soil, as too much can unbalance the nutrients in the soil. Again, you can hire professionals to apply this for you.

If you have Akaline Soil:

Soil pH levels higher than 6.8 need to be lowered for maximum plant health. Adding ground sulfur is the most common way to acidify soil. Other ways to raise the acidic levels of your soil include adding naturally acidic materials such as sawdust or peat.

For the best results, ask a professional to test your soil. This will give you the full information about your soil, including the soil pH, type of soil, minerals and nutrients found inside the soil. They will also apply the correct treatments to balance your soil.

Healthy soil helps plants to grow


Worms and other creatures help keep soil healthy


Indentify the components of your soil


Soil Element pie chart