Do you really want to amend your soil?

A lot of my customers ask me if they should amend the soil. Amending soil generally means adding compost or conditioning soil. Some even go as far as wanting to take out what is there and replace with new soil.

You could actually create more problems by overworking the top portion of the soil. It is what one of my professors used to call a teacup effect. Water would drain easy through the good portion of the soil and stop at the point that has not been amended. Your plants could then be sitting in water and for plants that don't like "wet feet" this could kill them.

I always tell customers do not over amend your soil. Instead select plants that can take compacted or poor soil conditions, spread leaf compost around where you plant, and mulch. The composition of the soil will eventually change over time. The mulch will break down in to the soil (which is good) creating richer soil. Fresh mulch looks and smells good too. Then avoid walking in your garden as much as possible because that will compact your soil even more and never walk in a wet garden.

One other step I really want to try is to stop at a bait and tackle shop and pick up about three thousand worms and throw them in to my soil. If you find them in your garden now, it is a good sign. They enrich the soil as they move creating oxygen pockets and they fertilize by leaving their casting as they work their way through.

When I moved in to my house I had terrible soil in my front garden. Instead of fussing with the soil I planted tough plants all conifers and native evergreen perennials. I mixed in a little compost while planting and finished it off with fresh mulch. The roots will spread out more, moving through the soil like worms creating nice oxygenated soil. Now plants and soil are working together and improving the conditions to survive on their own.

Native plants will always do better. They're already accustom to the area and soil conditions. The exception being Liriope. I love it. It is one tough plant. Style wise, it's like the color black, alway appropriate. I just could not image living in a would without Liriope.

Next post ....Allium, Agapanthus, Carolina Jasmine.