Gardening Dirt – The Key to a Great Garden

The first time you touched your hand to the earth and planted a seed, it was magical. Watching that little plant sprout and grow larger than your finger was exciting and educational — and a lot more fun than playing video games or watching TV. As you continue to garden, it becomes more of a hobby and less like work. It’s no wonder that research shows gardening provides a one-two punch of healthy exercise and sunshine.

The key to a great garden is excellent gardening soil. The ideal soil has a nice texture and is rich in organic matter. It has the right balance of sand, silt and clay particles, is well aerated and drains easily. It’s also free of harmful contaminants and weeds, has an appropriate amount of nutrients for plants and contains plenty of living organisms like earthworms, bacteria and fungi.

Soil is a complex mixture of rock-based particles, sand, silt and clay; organic matter such as dead plant material; and humus. These ingredients are combined over time to create a soil that is ideal for growing plants. A good quality garden soil is loose, fluffy and has an optimal ratio of sand to silt to clay. It’s also rich in humus and has a balanced amount of mineral particles that are available to plants.

Whether you purchase bagged garden soil or amend your native soil, it’s important to know where the dirt is coming from and how it’s been processed. It’s often strip-mined from the top of another piece of land or, more commonly, mixed up with various ingredients in a bulk garden soil production facility. It can be labeled as “potting soil,” which is typically formulated to have an average plant pH need and provide drainage, or as “garden soil” that has been augmented with additional organic material such as compost, peat, wood chips or fertilizer.

Adding a layer of organic matter such as compost, grass clippings or leaves helps improve the garden soil’s texture and nutrient content. It adds organic matter and also binds the particles together, improving the soil’s aeration and allowing water to easily flow through it. Using organic matter also allows for the addition of beneficial microorganisms and helps maintain a balanced soil temperature.