Planting Basics: Soil

Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic

Jul 2, 2002

SOIL

I was chugging along, putting together an article about the basics of planting plants, specifically woody plants, because that's what I've been doing lately, albeit not exactly at the prime time for doing it. Suddenly, I realized Whoa There!...the first thing; the most basic thing about planting anything is what it's being planted in. The soil. So, before we get into planting, let's look at that marvelous substance that is the basis for all life.

Soil NOT Dirt

Dirt is what you vacuum from your carpet. Soil is a combination of inorganic material derived from the underlying rock in your area, organic material, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals (living and dead) and all their chemical secretions, air and water, interwoven into a living matrix that provides anchorage and nutrients for the plants you want to grow. Without soil there would be no plants; without plants, there would be no life (as we know it) on this planet.

When we start gardening, soil is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about a garden, but it is a critical requirement for plant life. If it is not suitable for the plants you try to grow, they will not flourish. The first step in gardening is determining the type of soil in your garden. You may find that different parts of your garden have different types of soil.

Types of Soil

All soils reflect the underlying bedrock indigenous to your particular area of the world. Soils are formed over eons by the action of water and weather on this rock and the decomposition of the remains of living things (plant and animal).

Topsoil is the surface layer, containing the most organic material. It can vary from only a few inches to several feet in depth.
Subsoil is the layer of undisturbed soil below this, generally containing relatively little organic material.

If you are starting a garden in a newly built development, the chances are high that the soil you have is subsoil. The builder scraped all the topsoil from the site before construction started. If they were a good company, they may have replaced it with a thin layer of "topsoil" in which they, no doubt, seeded grass and planted the requisite foundation shrubs. While the grass and foundation plants may survive, this is not going to be adequate for more intensive gardening.

Your subsoil might not even be from your site; it could be fill hauled in from anywhere.

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The copyright of the article Planting Basics: Soil in Shade Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Planting Basics: Soil in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.