How to choose what soil is right for your garden
Your soil is the foundation of your garden. It is the medium to which your grass, shrubs, trees or vegetables anchor to and what provides your plants with the nutrients and support to survive and thrive for many years. Getting your soil right is therefore a crucial step in your gardening program.
Generally soils should be well drained with a good blend of silt, clay, sand and organic matter. Organic matter is a crucial component of a heathy and robust soil. A soil with adequate organic matter will appear dark in colour and have an earthy moist smell. A soil that needs attention will generally be light in colour and not be very friable when you dig into it. Either blocky or hard to break apart (high clay content) or very loose with no structure and runs through your fingers (very sandy). Whilst both characteristics have their benefits as an all-round soil they have limitations.
As not all plants need the same soil conditions you may need to treat different areas of your yard with different products to provide the optimal growing medium for your plants.
What to consider when choosing the best soil mix for your garden
There are a number of questions that need to be asked in order to determine the correct soil mix to use in your garden. These include;
Are you planting native trees and shrubs or exotic trees and shrubs?
Is it for a vegetable garden or are you planting particular feature plants such as azaleas or camellias?
Different plants have different requirements to be able to grow happily and healthily. Therefore to get the best results for your plant in terms of growth and performance it is important to stop and think a little about what you want to do in your garden before purchasing your soil.