How to Improve Your Garden’s Soil

One of the principal ways of ensuring you get full value out of any flowers, shrubs, fruit and vegetables you plant in your garden is to ensure that you know what soil type you have – and what you can do to improve it – and, as a consequence, the growth of your plants.

Madingley Mulch, suppliers of soil conditioners in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, look at the main soil types found in the UK, what sort of plants they are most suitable for, and what you can do to improve your growing conditions.

 

Clay Soils

Clay soil is the main type of soil found in the East of England (where most of our customers are located). You will know you’ve got clay in your soil if you can roll it into a sausage shape between your fingers without it breaking up.

Sadly, it’s not ideal for growing many different types of plants because it has a rather sticky texture. It retains water so well it’s easy for some species to get waterlogged. Without any treatment hydrangeas and hardy geraniums do well in this type of soil, if you don’t want to add anything to it.

However, the best course of action to treat the clay soil is to add some organic mulch – this will break down the clay into smaller particles, making the nutrients more readily accessible to your plants’ roots.

This also makes the soil more easily workable and less likely to suffer from compaction, which is a bad thing because it means the air spaces are much smaller. Air spaces in the soil are essential for good drainage, and the movement of gases and plant roots (the roots suffer because they tend to be much shallower).

 

Sandy Soils

As you might expect, sandy soil has a gritty element – it should fall through your fingers easily. It will also drain quickly after rain or watering. However, because sandy soils don’t retain moisture very well, there are two steps you can take.

One is to opt for drought-tolerant plants, such as geraniums, buddleija, conifers such as cypress trees or fruit and vegetables such as rhubarb, chard and asparagus – all of these will need very little watering once they become established.

The other option is to improve the soil – organic matter such as leaf mould or tree bark will increase the alkaline content of the soil (it’s usually very acidic to start with) which will improve the growing conditions.

 

Silt Soils

Silt soils are quite similar to sandy soils in that they are quite light – they have a slightly slippery, soapy texture and can easily be damaged by heavy wind and rain, particularly if they form an external crust.

You can either compact the soil by stepping on it or using a hand or machine tool; the other solution is to grow something on it.

Silt soils are more fertile than sandy soils, so this should be relatively straightforward – but again it’s a good idea to add some mulch as this will bind the soil together. The best plants to grow in this type of ground are trees such as willow, birch and cypress, and most fruit and vegetables, if the drainage is good enough.

 

Loam Soils

Loam soils have a mixture of all the above soil types’ characteristics. It has a crumbly texture and is known as ‘the gardener’s friend’ – it keeps moisture well, has a good mix of nutrients, and warms up quickly in the spring.

The best plants to grow in a loam soil include most fruit and veg, such as tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and strawberries – but you should be able to grow most plants in it without too much help.

However, it is still worth adding a mulch to the soil, particularly if you are replacing the plants every year (or growing fruit and vegetables in it) as you will be removing some of the nutrients when you cultivate it. It’s also important to note that some loamy soils may contain stones, so take care when you do your cultivating and harvesting.

 

Chalk Soils

Chal soils have a high alkaline content thanks to the presence of the chalk in the soil. In the UK these soil varieties are mainly found in areas with high deposits of calcium or limestone, such as the South Downs, the Yorkshire Dales, and the Chiltern Hills – not usually the East of England.

Like the loam soils, they may well have stones (or flints) in them. They are also very free draining and difficult to keep fertile. This means it may be better to stick to growing items which thrive in this sort of soil – such as lavendula, geraniums and clematis – rather than trying to fertilize the ground.

 

Madingley Mulch – Bark Mulch Suppliers in Cambridge

The one common denominator with all these types of soils is that (with the possible exception of chalk soils) they can be improved with an organic mulch or soil conditioner to help improve plant growth and produce yield.

This is where we at Madingley Mulch come into our own – as our name suggests, we are specialists when it comes to mulch, supplying it and other types of soil conditioners in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and around East Anglia.

These include various types of barks, mulches and soils, conditioners and composts.

You can also call us on 01954 212144 if you need any help.

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