Garden Soil What Is It About Soil That Can Make Or Break A Successful Garden?

Soil structure is calculated by the way individual particles of silt, sand, and clay form together as a clump. Soil that is considered to be made up of a "good" structure has lots of space, water, and air.

Although the ground that you step on feels solid, interestingly enough soil is typically made up of 25% water, 25% air, and only 50% of solid particles which are made up of organic matter. The solid particles become structured together by the climate, wet and dry cycle periods, freezing and unfreezing of the dirt, and other physical forces such as the growth of roots.

What lumps soil together?

Soil is held together by various substances such as clay and/or chemicals. It is these substances that provide the "glue" for the soil. You can easily add organic matter to your soil to give it more stickiness. A good analogy would be to imagine a bowl full of peanuts and raisins all mixed together. Now imagine pouring a bottle of maple syrup into the bowl. If you pour this syrup over the top of the mixture of peanuts and raisins, it will form a hard coating once it dries. However, if you mix the entire bowl together with the syrup, it then creates a big ball of mass that has openings and pathways. This is the same way soil structure is created in the earth.

How can you fix your soil structure without over-complicating things?

The answer to this question is simple: use organic matter. Using organic matter is considered a gardener's cure that can fix almost any problem that he or she may come across with their soil.

If you add organic matter to sandy soil that it will help increase the soil's ability to hold more water and extra nutrients. You can use organic matter to help loosen up clay and create extra pockets for additional air and water.

Organic matter also helps by nurturing the microorganisms and other insects that live within the soil. In turn, these creatures help by breaking down the organic matter into nutrients that the roots of your plants can absorb readily.