What’s in Your Soil?
by Rick Mathews
Healthy soil is the foundation of any landscape. Soils problems can really hamper the success of a garden. Whether to add large amounts of organic amendments to planting areas or simply emphasize proper tilth, drainage and plant choices.
Depending on your needs all of these issues must be examined. Soil tests are often very useful and are becoming more widely used and less expensive.
Compost
It is safe to say that organic compost won’t usually hurt your garden. On the contrary, composting garden and kitchen wastes is great for amending the soil, and for recycling what shouldn’t be considered garbage. Greenwaste accounts for up to 30% of residential trash headed for landfills.
Mulch
Mulch is extremely valuable in making your garden more sustainable. How? Mulch covers and cools the soil, conserves moisture, suppresses weed growth, slows erosion and adds nutrients as it decomposes. It also hides and protects drip lines. And to most eyes it looks good.
Be careful not to leave mulch on the stems and trunks of plants, so as to avoid moisture-related fungus and bacteria problems.