Improving your soil
Subtitle: a practical guide to soil management for the serious home gardener
By: Keith Reid
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9781770852266
Subjects: Gardening; Soil management; Garden soils
Description: Intended for both small and medium-size gardens, Improving Your Soil reveals the steps to take to achieve the perfect soil base in which to grow plants. With directions on amending poor soil, modifying mediocre earth, aerating compacted topsoil and substrates, and testing pH levels, this book enables gardeners to nurture their plants and promote more abundant growth. The features of good soil include proper structure and nutrients that encourage healthy plant growth. Soil in "good tilth" is loamy, nutrient-rich and friable because it has an optimal mixture of sand, clay and organic matter that prevents severe compaction. Improving Your Soil shows gardeners how to improve the soil in their garden to encourage good seed bedding and a strong root system for proper nutrient disbursement throughout various soil depths.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Seasons of the soil; title: Getting started : what type of soil do you have?; title: What is soil, and why is it important?; title: Different soils, different challenges; title: Soil texture : the bones of your soil; title: Soil structure : the skeleton of your soil; title: Soil water; title: Irrigation basics for gardens; title: A little bit of soil chemistry; title: How soil holds nutrients; title: Soil life and soil organic matter; title: Harnessing biological cycles for our benefit; title: Feeding your plants; title: Sustaining the land; title: Glossary of soil terms; title: Appendix I. Selected laboratories for testing garden soils; title: Appendix II. Agricultural and horticultural extension resources; title: Appendix III. Chemical symbols and formulas.