The Importance of a Good Quality Garden Topsoil
The condition of your garden topsoil will most likely be one of the most important factors in how well your garden looks. Your plants make use of this topsoil to obtain all of the nutrients they require to prosper. In this post we are going to look at a number of things to look out for as well as some ways that we can assist out both our gardens topsoil and the plants that we want to grow in it. Hopefully this can assist you to get the most out of your garden.
One of the most important things to watch for in your Garden Topsoil is the moisture levels is of paramount importance. Too much and it will be too boggy. Meaning your plants will be far too wet around the roots. Too little and the topsoil will be way too dry to sustain your plants needs. Not enough moisture held in the soil is a sign that the water is draining through it way too quickly. There are of course things that you can do to improve your gardens topsoil.
To improve drainage dig in some sharp sand or fine gravel this will help the soil to not clog together allowing the water to drain through easily. If it is not too bad then adding some well rotted compost or manure will help also.
Whilst these may be the cheapest way to improve your drainage, they are by no means the easiest, buying high quality garden Topsoil in the first place will reduce the need to do this, but obviously that comes at a premium. Other ways would be to introduce large amounts of well rotted manure or compost which will not only add a lot of nutrition for your plants to feed off but will also help with moisture retention.
Weeds are another problem that will drive you up the wall especially in a garden that hasn’t been well looked after for a period of time. They seem to grow quicker than you can control them. If this is the case then the best thing to do for your garden and your sanity is after weeding the area cover it in a good natural Mulch. This is a double edged sord as not only is it bio-degradable and will add nutrients back into your garden topsoil, it will discourage weeds from re-growing as it blocks out all light.
Areas of lawn can show signs of problems with the topsoil. Out of sight out of mind springs to mind when talking about the condition of the topsoil underneath your grass. Of course there are signs that problems are occurring even with a lawn. Heavy moss or puddles forming can be signs that there are drainage problems. The best way to solve that is to aerate the lawn add a small amount of sand and a good quality natural turf dressing.
If your garden topsoil is too dry your lawn will not have the deep grewen colour you would expect, as the lawn is not getting the nutrients it needs from the soil. Although Lawns should be more on the drier side they don’t want to be too dry.