Elements To Good Garden Soil
The soil is the storehouse for all good things. Knowledge of the elements to good garden soil is the key to growing strong and healthy garden plants.
Soil
Soil is the foundation of every healthy garden. This section focuses on understanding soil structure, improving soil health, and building fertility through practical methods suited to home gardens.
You’ll find guidance on composting, soil amendments, drainage, pH balance, and improving clay or sandy soils. These posts explain how soil supports root development, nutrient uptake, and long-term plant health. Whether preparing a new garden bed or improving existing soil, this category provides clear, actionable steps to help your plants thrive from the ground up.
Cold Composting
Starting A Compost Pile
Today I am going to walk you through starting a compost pile or aka cold composting which is composting kitchen scraps and yard waste this year into rich, beautiful soil for next year.
Use Less Soil in Your Planting Containers
Use Less Soil in Your Planting Containers
Use these tips to use less soil in your planting containers. We all have those x-large outdoor pots that need to be filled with soil for holding beautiful flower arrangements, herbs, and produce. Over the years I have used several items to serve this purpose. Some were excellent choices and some, poor choices.
Test Your Soil For Lead
Test Your Soil For Lead Before Planting Your Garden
If your garden is located near or next to a home, barn or additional structure that was built before 1978 test your soil for lead before planting your garden. Otherwise, you might be ingesting lead through your plants or tracking lead-based soil into your home.
Composting with Worms
Composting with Worms
Have you heard about composting with worms? Vermicomposting? Worm farming? It is a wonderful eco-friendly way to create nutrient-rich vermicompost. Plus, worm tea for your soil.
Sharpening Your Garden Shovel
Sharpening Your Garden Shovel
Spending 5 minutes of time per year sharpening your garden shovel can eliminate your backbreaking work by digging deeper and dividing painless.
Increase or Decrease Your Soil pH
Increase or Decrease Your Soil pH
pH represents how acidic or alkaline it is. Soil pH is determined on a scale from zero to 14, with seven being a neutral pH that is neither acidic nor alkaline. If your soil pH is outside the range of 6.0 to 7.0 you may need to increase or decrease your soil pH.