Soil type and how to improve your soil
21.08.2023 - 12:05
/ theunconventionalgardener.com
/ Emma Doughty
It’s raining heavily today, so there’s no point even trying to go outside into the garden, but if there’s a plus point to such dreadful weather then it does – at least temporarily – make people aware of what’s under their feet. Soil tends to be forgotten until it turns into mud, or you squelch along through sodden grass, or watch priceless fertility washed down the drain. Weather like this shows us the importance of winter soil care, particularly keeping soil covered (even if all you have is weeds!) so that plant roots can hold it all together for you.
All of my raised beds, bar one, are planted. Some contain perennial crops, some have been planted with winter crops. One is still harbouring oca and ulluco (still hanging on, but only just). Over the weekend I cleared the one that had held sweetcorn and assorted summer things; its soil is currently being hammered by rain, although of course it can’t go anywhere. Later in the week I’ll be planting it up with the garlic.
As any organic gardener will tell you, soil does more than hold plants up – improving your soil is the key to getting healthy and abundant crops, so let’s take a look at soil improvement basics.
What you need to do to take care of your soil depends on the soil type you have. The main types are sandy, silty, clay and peat, although most soils are a mixture. Peat soils are very high in organic matter, but are rare in gardens. ‘Loam’ is an idealised garden soil that is a particular mixture of sand, silt and clay mineral particles. It’s quite easy to identify which type your soil is most like, by examining a small sample:
As you can see from the flow chart, there are some commonalities – unless you have a peat soil it will benefit from applications of compost, and