Fall is a wonderful time for planting and since soil is such an important part of plant health I thought I’d give a blurb about healthy soil. We all know that a plant’s water is taken up through its root system, but sometimes we forget that a plant’s nutrients and oxygen are also taken up through its root system. Therefore, we have to maintain a proper balance of water to air space in the soil for healthy plants.

Sandy soils have plenty of air space but very little ability to retain water. Conversely, clay soils retain water but have very little air space. Adding composted organic material to soils improves available oxygen in clay soils and water holding capacity in sandy soils. The organic amendment should be fully composted because the decomposition process competes with plants for nutrients.

Incorporate amendments into the existing soil to at least 25% by volume to change the water holding capacity of clays and improve aeration of sandy soils. This translates to 2” OF COMPOST INCORPORATED TO AT LEAST 6”. More is better (up to 50% by volume) and incorporating deeper is much better.

A few other notes to remember:
Never work clay soil when wet
Do not amend clay soil with sand (think cement)
Organic amendments also create a better environment for microbes and earthworms.
If mulching yearly (which you should be doing) be sure to add nitrogen
yearly since the decomposition process uses available nitrogen.