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Job scope tips: Improving Soil for Gardeners

If you are working as a Gardener, your job scope or work may include tending the soil of the clients’ garden.

Basically there are 5 common types of soil. As a working gardener, one must be able to identify them as well as know their pros and cons for gardening. They are as listed and described below.

1. Sand. Sand is dry and light. It feels gritty. Sand is free draining. Because of that, it loses nutrient easily. When using sand, extra fertilizer and organic matter should be added.

2. Peat. Peat has a spongy feel and its either dark brown or grey in colour. Unlike sand, peat tends to retain too much water. Because of that, it may require artificial draining. It is also often acidic and is naturally rich in decomposed organic matter and nutrient.

3. Clay. Clay is heavy. It feels sticky when moist. Under wet condition, clay is hard to work with. It does not drain water easily.

4. Silt. It does not feel sticky and gritty. When wet, silt can become badly drained. Silt quality can be improved by adding in some manure and compost.

5. Chalk. Chalk is very light in colour. Being highly alkaline, it is not suitable for many types of plants. Additionally, it does not retain nutrients well.

Well these are just some descriptions of the soil types. The most ideal soil must be rich in nutrients in the form of organic matters. It must also be able to drain well. Each soil types has its own pros and cons. However, there are techniques that can be used to improve

The following are tips for improving soil:

Clay is one of five types of soil. As a soil, it is heavy and sticky when wet. Under wet condition, clay is relatively hard to work with. Additionally, it does not drain water easily. The following are some techniques to improve clay for use as garden soil.

1. Adding lime to improve water drainage. We can improve this aspect of clay by a process known as ‘flocculation’. This is done by adding some lime to the clay. This will cause the clay bits to bind together forming larger pieces. Care must be taken to ensure that you are adding the right amount of lime that is suitable for the type of plant that you are intending to grow. This is because lime can alter the PH of the soil.

2. Adding organic matter as nutrients. Adding bulky organic matters improves nutrients. At the same time, this also widens the spaces in the soil which allows the root of the plant to anchor better. This also improve water and air drainage.

3. Soften the soil by digging. If you live in the temperate region, autumn is a time to do some digging. Digging will make the surface more porous for flow and interaction with the elements.

Using sand as soil has its advantages and disadvantages. Unlike clay, it is very light. Sand is quite easy to work with. Therefore there is not so important to dig it.

The following are some techniques to improve clay for use as garden soil.

1. Adding mulch to improve water retension and soil nutrients. Sand has the tendency to lose water through evaporation and draining. This problem can be solved by adding organic matters or mulch. This at the same time also improves the nutrients level of the soil.

2. Maintaining a vegetation cover over the surface of the soil. This will help in reducing the leaching of nutrients. A good method is to grow a green manure crop during winter season.

These information are generally knowledge. Our website is not responsible if the outcome is not as one desired.