Soil Improvement for the Mildly Motivated
Understanding and improving your soil is beneficial to having a successful garden. You may encounter any number of varieties on your own land: sandy, clay-based, loamy (nice!) hardpan (that’s when your shovel bounces off and winds up in your neighbor’s yard) or silty (near creek and river beds.) These types may not be consistent throughout your property as well. If you’d like assistance assessing your soil, your local Soil Conservation District or Extension service ought to be able to help you. But if you’re inclined towards the DIY approach, here’s what I did: When we bought our land, it was pretty obvious that most of the yard had been used as a place to park cars. The yard was compacted throughout and any place I tried to dig I encountered dense clay with rock. The shovel wouldn’t penetrate more than a couple of inches. My first garden performed poorly. Even…