Get the Dirt on Soil This New Year

Photo: Organic mulches such as pine needles or leaves break down to improve the structure of your soil over time.

 Pamela Sawyer is a Master Gardener volunteer with the UF-IFAS Extension in Leon County.

In my favorite easy chair at home I have a pillow which states that “Gardeners know all the best dirt”.  I had never really thought about whether this was true until a few years ago when I started to think some of my plant problems might be related to the dirt they grow in.  I started asking questions of my gardening friends and reading the few books on soil that I could find.  I have now come to the conclusion that my pillow lied.

 Many of us gardeners don’t know much at all about soil.  We start out gardening because we love flowers or vegetables, not because we admire and want to create good soil.  Let’s face it, at that point it is just dirt.  We continue because of the sense of wonder and excitement at seeing things grow.  We feel relaxed and peaceful working in the garden.  But when aphids begin sucking the life from the roses and caterpillars chew up the cannas we feel nothing but rage and the urge to kill.

 I’m not claiming that healthy soil will rid you of all disease and pestilence in your garden, but I do think it’s a good start.  Healthy soil can’t help but yield healthy plants.  Also you can feel morally superior because you are not killing creatures and poisoning the earth.  So, let’s talk dirt.

 I used to think that it was really dirt and people used the word soil just to impress others.  But after reading up on soil, I have changed my mind.  First of all, there are “characteristics” associated with this stuff.  Now I figure anything with characteristics must have something going for it.  Soil is made up of about equal parts solids and spaces.  Two of its characteristics are structure and texture.  There’s not much you can do to change the texture of your soil, but the structure is another matter.  Is your respect for “soil” rising yet?

Since I am only a humble gardener, I do not claim to know any more than the bare minimum needed to improve soil.  Here are the basics as I understand them.  Texture is what most people think of when they think of soil.  It’s the mineral part of soil - small bits of crushed rock.  These particles fall into 3 categories - sand, silt, and clay.  All soils are made up of some combination of these three particles.  In Leon county we have sandy soils.  These mineral particles, along with a little organic matter make up about fifty percent of soil.  This is the solid part.  The other half of soil is made up of pore spaces which are filled with either air or water.  Structure is how it all clumps together.  This is simplifying things a lot, but basically, the more organic matter you have in soil, the better it sticks together and forms little spaces for air and water.

Really sandy soil has little structure, so it doesn’t have many places to hold air and water.  You can increase these pore spaces by adding more organic matter to your soil.  The easiest way to do this is by mulching, and not with that rubber mulch made from recycled tires!  Something organic is called for, something that will rot and add structure to your soil.  You can buy bags of pine bark or cypress mulch, or you can use what you have, such as fallen leaves and pine needles.  You can get by with doing nothing more than mulching.  You soil will slowly improve as you add mulch once or twice a year, two to three inches at a time.  But if you are an impatient gardener like me, you may want to do more.  You can add mushroom compost or your own homemade compost.  You can mow your leaves into small pieces, let them sit for six months and then dig them into the soil.

There are many ways to add organic matter and improve soil.  Go to your library and get a book or buy one from a local nursery or bookstore.  Talk dirt with other gardeners.  Ask questions at the nursery.  And stop calling it dirt! 

To show my new found respect, I now call it “soil”.  So if you hear me call it soil, I hope you are impressed - not with me, with the brown stuff.  It deserves it!

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