If you are doing everything that you can think of but are still not getting the right kind of crops that you want then giving your soil the right kind of soil conditioning can give you that extra boost to set your crops above the top. By figuring out what type of soil that you have and what type of soil your plants need you can now give your plants the best environment possible. There are three basic types of soil that can be used in both indoor and outdoor gardening they are: silt, sand and clay, for info about how to determine which type of soil that you have check out this dude as he does a lot of the same stuff: http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/2010/07/how-to-find-the-soil-composition-of-your-garden.html
Once you figure out which type of soil that you have, you know are able to figure out what your soil needs. There are a couple of different things to look at when you are looking at your soil. They are:
- Amount of nutrients in your soils- organic compounds that add nutrients- top soil, compost, humus, leaf mold, manure, kelp. Inorganic compounds that add nutrients- gypsum
- How well the soil hold water or water retention- organic compounds that help the soil hold water- peat moss ( Canadian), top soil, compost, humus, leaf mold, mushroom soil. Inorganic compounds that help water retention- vermiculite, hydro-gels
- How well your soil gets rid of excess water after it has reached its retention limit- organic compounds that improve soil drainage- top soil, compost, humus, leaf mold, manure, kelp, and mushroom soil. Inorganic compounds that improve soil drainage- builder’s sand, and vermiculite
- How well oxygen or air is able to pass through the soil. Organic compounds that help aerate the soil- peat moss, top soil, compost, bark chips, saw dust, humus, leaf mold, mushroom soil. Inorganic compounds that help aerate the soil- gypsum, builder’s sand, vermiculite.
- The type of texture your soil has, and how much volume your soil has. Organic compounds that add texture and volume to your soil- peat moss, top soil, compost, bark, wood chips, saw dust, humus, leaf mold, manure, mushroom soil and kelp. Inorganic compounds that add texture and volume to your soil- gypsum improves texture. Hydro-gels improve volume
There are many different kinds of materials that you can add to your soil to make it the kind that you need for your plants but they all lay in one of two categories: organic and inorganic.
Special notes:
Peat moss – adds acidity to your soil.
Gypsum- helps to condition soil with a high clay content.
When using builders sand try and get as coarse as possible to have the best effect.
Vermiculite- helps to condition sandy and silty soils.
Hydro-gels- these things are great for container planting.
Sawdust- don’t use sawdust that is from pressure treated wood.
