Five Essential Facts About Soil For Gardening Success In Tennessee

good soilThere are five essential facts about soil for gardening success in Tennessee. With three distinct regions, gardening in Tennessee can be tricky. There’s a saying is that “Your garden is only as good as your soil.” How true that is! So true in fact, that one time during the winter my husband, Alfred, dug up every plant in our perennial garden just so he could amend the soil. That spring we could really tell the difference. Below are our top five essential facts about soil a gardener in Tennessee, or anywhere for that matter, should know.

Five Essential Facts About Soil For Gardening Success in Tennessee

  1. The best type of soil has loose, crumbly texture. You can compare its texture to a piece of cake held in your hand. One easy way to test this is to put about a cup of damp, not wet, soil into the palm of your hand. Make a ball of soil pressing only hard enough to make the soil stick together.  Next, gently bounce the ball up and down in your hands with a rocking motion. Loamy soils will crumble partially, but sandy soils fall apart. Clay soils will stick together. This is called soil texture and soil structure.
  2. Another fact about soil is that soil should also have an acid/alkaline (PH) balance which is appropriate for the type of plants you are growing.
  3. Soil also needs soil-enhancing creatures like worms. Worm compost, also called worm castings, is a great soil amendment to your soil.
  4. Technically, soil is made up of 45 percent inorganic minerals, 20 to 30 percent water, and 5 percent organic matter. These inorganic minerals are also called rock particles. The rock particles are classified according to their size. Sand is composed of the largest particles, clay is the smallest, and silt (loam) is in between the two. The spaces between the rock particles contain air and water. The best soils contain an equal amount of each. This is important because it directly affects the drainage of your garden.  Too much drainage and plants can dry out too fast  causing you to have to water more. Too little drainage, plants can become over saturated and may become permanently wilted.
  5. The organic material (humus) in soil can be living or dead. Microorganisms, soil animals, plant debris, and roots are all part of the soil’s organic matter. Your garden needs humus soil in order to be healthy and to produce healthy plants.

If you need your soil tested, please contact us at Acer Landscape Services or you can even pick up a soil testing kit at garden centers or from your local extension service. Extension services have a soil sample box with instructions on how to take your samples.  Once you take your samples, give the sample box back to the extension office and they will send it off. You will get a detailed report sent back on what nutrients, if any, is needed for your soil.

With these five essential facts about soil, you should be on your way to a great garden!