Soils What kind of soil should I use? If
you are buying garden soil from a soil sup- plier, specify what you plan to use it for: i.e. a flower garden or a vegetable garden or for lawns. Most suppliers are knowledgeable and will send you an appropriate mix of topsoil, organics and sand or silt. If you are the mus- cular type or on a tight budget and plan to dig your own garden, first check out the type of soil you have lurking beneath that grass. Is there much black topsoil (eight inches or more)? Or is it just thin layer over laying heavy clay or sand? If it’s clay based, you will need to add organic material – this could be something as simple as shredded newspaper, leaves and grass clippings and so on. Or you could add peat moss, but this needs to be renewed every year. Dig whichever organic material you choose into the top six to eight inches of soil. You can also add some coarse sand or perlite for additional drainage. If the soil is mainly sandy, organics are again very important to give the soil some substance. What about potting soils? There are many potting mixes on the market, some
of them fortified with fertilizer and water- retention gels or even micorrhizae, a root- friendly bacteria. They are all fine to use, but they can dry out and be hard to rehydrate. I mix mine with good old soil, which helps retain moisture and adds weight to the con- tainer. There is nothing wrong with using plain soil, but you probably should also add some perlite or other drainage material to ensure that the pot doesn’t get compacted with dried out mud in mid summer. Add- ing organics, once again, is a very good idea. Two parts peat to five parts soil would work. You may also want to include a hand- ful of slow release fertilizer to cut down on fertilizing for the first half of the summer. What about mulching? Mulching is
done for several reasons: a) to conserve water; b) to add organics to the soil, c) to suppress weeds; d) for cosmetic reasons; e) to keep roots cool. In hot, dry weather ,mulch can help a great deal to conserve what moisture there is in the soil, but in a rainy season, it can contribute to fungal dis- ease and soggy garden conditions. Use your
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innate good sense to determine when to add mulch and when to pull it away. Never mulch too thickly – two to three inches is enough. You don’t want to promote a home for voles. Never mulch too close to plant stems to prevent fungal disease and keep critters away from the plant. What kind of mulch should I use? Af-
ter a year or two, depending on the type of mulch, organic mulches will break down and help to condition your soil. Rocks, which are attractive, can’t do this. Neither will suppress weeds completely. Should I use a landscape cloth? Land-
scape cloth will shut down weeds for a lon- ger time than mulch alone, but after a cou- ple of years, soil will build up on top of the cloth and weeds will appear; however, they are easier to pull from this medium than from the soil. If you want to add perennials in the future, you will have to cut through the cloth to do this and you may also run into problems with perennials that outgrow the hole in the cloth that was originally pro- vided for them.
Summer 2012 • 21
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