Soil, Fixes & Fertilizers

A little basic info about the texture of your garden soil can help you determine how the soil absorbs water and if it needs some amending. This article has information on using a DIY jar test to measure soil texture in your garden.

By Mary H. Dyer

Build healthy soil to enhance your sustainable garden while reaping the rewards of more abundant crops and a more eco-friendly environment.

By Bonnie L. Grant

Learn how to attract earthworms for optimum plant health and porosity. This article provides tips and information on attracting worms to the garden and the benefits they offer.

By Bonnie L. Grant

It?s common to hear reference to alkaline/acidic or sandy/loamy/clay when soil types are being explained. These may be categorized even further with terms like lime or chalky soil. Lime soils are pretty common, but what is chalky soil? Find out here.

By Darcy Larum

Understanding nitrogen requirements for plants helps gardeners supplement crop needs more effectively. Adequate nitrogen soil content is necessary for healthy plants. Get more info in this article.

By Nikki Tilley

plants require soil aeration, nutrition and water to thrive. If your garden soil is lacking in any of these, there is something that you can add to improve soil structure - vermiculite. What is vermiculite and how is using vermiculite beneficial? Click here for more info.

By Amy Grant

Using coltsfoot leaves for fertilizer imparts healthful benefits to our green friends when applied as a tea or even as compost. Learn how to make coltsfoot fertilizer as part of your organic garden care ritual. This article will get you started.

By Bonnie L. Grant

Fish emulsion benefits to plants and ease of use make this an exceptional fertilizer in the garden, especially when making your own. For more information on making and using fish emulsion, this article will help.

By Susan Patterson

Testing and maintaining adequate soil nutrients is an essential aspect of growing a beautiful home garden. Monitoring and correcting high phosphorus levels in soil will be essential in ensuring optimal plant growth in the garden. Learn about high phosphorus here.

By Tonya Barnett

Potassium is a critical nutrient that plants absorb from the soil, and from fertilizer. A little extra potassium generally isn’t cause for worry, but potassium-rich soil can be a problem. Click this article to learn how to reduce potassium in soil.

By Mary H. Dyer

Given that pets have a natural disregard for the sanctity of your tomatoes, how do you go about sanitizing garden soil? If there are pet feces in the garden, is disinfecting contaminated soil even necessary? Click this article for more information.

By Amy Grant

If your garden soil is compacted and dense, thus incapable of absorbing and retaining water and nutrients, you might try adding zeolite as a soil amendment. Interested in learning about zeolite soil conditioning? Click here for tips on adding zeolite to soil.

By Amy Grant

Soil microbes are an important part of the soil system and are present and varied in all soils everywhere. These may be unique to the area where they are found and adapt to changing conditions there. But do soil microbes adapt to different regions? Find out here.

By Becca Badgett

For many home gardeners, nothing is more frustrating than crop loss due to unknown causes. Gaining a better understanding of soil borne organisms and pathogens can help growers develop a thorough grasp of soil and garden health. This article will help.

By Tonya Barnett

To the gardener, the most important thing about microclimate soils is their ability to provide areas where different plants will grow – plants that might not grow in your primary landscape because of a lack of sun or moisture. Learn more about this here.

By Becca Badgett