Content
- Determine and optimize the garden floor - that's how it works
- What makes a perfect garden floor?
- Determine soil quality with the hand sample - that's how it works
- Ground for too light - that's what to do now
- Test PH value
- Optimizing heavy soil - that's how it works
- Tips
Garden soil can be adjusted by adding compost or sand at will
Determine and optimize the garden floor - that's how it works
Let the flowering and yield of your garden plants to be desired leaves the quality of the garden floor in focus. This guide explains how you can easily get an in-depth look at the soil texture. If defects are found, they are quickly resolved with the help of our instructions.
What makes a perfect garden floor?
Their flowers, shrubs and vegetables want a balanced mix of clay, sand, clay and humus. If these components are in a healthy relationship to each other, an active soil life consisting of microorganisms prevails as a prerequisite for vital growth, flowering and earning power. The following features characterize the ideal garden floor:
Only a few home gardeners enjoy the privilege of a perfect garden floor. However, this is no reason to renounce their own ornamental, utility and herb garden. By adding simple aggregates, you can compensate for any shortcomings that occur.
Determine soil quality with the hand sample - that's how it works
The actual crumb structure of the earth determines which aggregates improve the garden soil. With a hand sample you determine the soil type reliable. To do this, form a handful of earth between your palms into a roll. You can differentiate the different types of soil based on the following characteristics of the soil sample:
Only in exceptional cases do you have to do with a pure sand, loam or clay soil. It is usually a mixture of all three components. Use the hand sample to determine which ingredient is dominating or too abundant in your garden soil. From this you draw conclusions about the right measures to optimize the structure in such a way that it reaches the ideal conditions.
Ground for too light - that's what to do now
In pure sandy soil, only a few survivors from the plant kingdom thrive, such as cacti and succulents. If even small amounts of humus are included, this soil quality is suitable for a stone or heather garden. If the sample indicates a too sandy, light structure, add more stability to the soil with the following measures to better store water and nutrients. How to do it right:
Test PH value
In order to determine the pH in the garden soil, garden centers and DIY stores offer test kits that do not require any prior chemical knowledge. If the result indicates a value below 5.5, it is regulated using algal lime or garden lime. As a rule of thumb: 10 grams of lime per liter of soil increase the value by one point.
Optimizing heavy soil - that's how it works
In too clay and clay soil plants are permanently threatened by waterlogging and lack of oxygen. Furthermore, the soil remains cold for a long time in the spring, so that your perennials go down with the growth. Remedy is provided by special soil additives that loosen and aerate the soil. How to improve the soil quality:
This combination of different aggregates eliminates current compaction and effectively prevents this problem. With a deep-rooted green manure you round off the package of measures meaningfully. Lupins, oil radish and other deep roots additionally loosen the soil, so that waterlogging and lack of air are a thing of the past.
Tips
Hand sample and pH test are not sufficient for determining the soil quality, if you want to create a garden after the new construction. Instead, take 10 to 12 samples of soil samples and send them to a specialized laboratory. There, the experts prepare a detailed soil analysis and give well-founded recommendations on planting and fertilizer requirements.