Not everyone I know is a gardener, but it seems like whenever a few friends get together the topic invariably turns to gardening. It usually starts with an innocent question like “does anyone know where to find a dark purple rhododendron locally?” Before long, we get into a lengthy discussion on the value of cover crops or how to best get rid of slugs.
This happened recently when I was working in the Learning Garden with other Master Gardeners and the topic came up about good gardening books about heathers. Pretty soon she was in a deep discussion with other volunteers about the different kinds of heathers that were growing in their respective gardens.
But then it got interesting. One Master Gardener volunteer mentioned that she had purchased two identical plants from a local grower. They both had the same amount of sun and water, but yet one was doing much better than the other. Her conclusion was one grew in better soil.
Soil is something we rarely think of when we garden, and yet it would be like making spaghetti sauce without first considering tomatoes. When I refer to “soil” I refer to what makes up the basis for growth and health of a plant. (Dirt, on the other hand, is what is tracked into the house on our boots.) Soil supplies the nutrients as it holds the plant steady. So before we put a single plant into the ground, we should be analyzing our soil.
Obviously, there is a huge difference between sandy soil and clay soil. Ideally, we want a soil that is not too loose (sand) and not too packed (clay). Water needs to be able to permeate through the soil but if it goes too fast (sand) or too slow (clay) the nutrients the water contains will not be able to be utilized by the root structures of the plants.
Tillamook County has a wide variety of soils, including pure sand and pure clay. But there are also a lot of good in-between types of soils like loam and silt-loam. There are ways to test the soil in your garden, and the easiest is to take a quart jar with a tight lid and fill half the jar with soil. Add a teaspoon of automatic dishwasher soap and fill the rest of the jar with water. Replace the lid and give it a good shake for about 3 minutes. Set the jar aside and let it settle for an hour or so. When you return, you will easily see the layers of clay, silt and sand in the jar. Depending on the percentage of each, you will know what type of soil you have. Repeat this test for each area of your garden as there will probably be more than one type of soil in your yard.
Acidity (pH) is also a good thing to measure before you plant. Most vegetables and perennials like a soil that is slightly on the acidic-to-neutral side. Rhodies, blueberries and azaleas, though, like a very acidic soil. There are test kits available, but if you take a small sample to the Tillamook Master Gardener office on Monday afternoons or Wednesday mornings, they will do a pH test and tell you what to add to your soil to make the plants you want happy.
Compost is always a good addition or amendment to your soil. You can buy compost but it’s easier to make your own from kitchen scraps. It just takes a little more time. Manure that has been aged is also a good composting material, but do make sure it has been aged at least a year.
Amending the soil is easiest if done before you plant the beds. But I know this is not always practical. A side-dressing of compost around existing plants will help the soil, too. Here again, make sure it has aged and keep it away from the tender stems of the plants. It is best lightly worked into the ground at the drip edge of the plant and then watered.
For vegetable beds, consider planting cover crops in the fall. Cover crops can improve the soil on several levels. They protect the surface against wind and rain erosion. The roots of cover crops push through the soil and create pores that help water and air move through the soil. But they also act to fix nitrogen into the soil, nitrogen that is necessary to healthy growth. Weeds are less likely to pierce through a thickly planted cover crop and once turned back into the soil, cover crops contribute organic matter which always improves whatever type soil you may have.
The type of cover crop you select will depend on the conditions of your garden. Some, like cowpea and yellow sweet clover will do very well in shade. Crimson clover is not only lovely when it blooms, it is drought resistant, shade tolerant, and is easily mowed to return organic matter to the soil. Other crops to consider are red clover, rye and mustard. Check with the Oregon State Extension Office in Tillamook for a list of cover crops and how to use them.
Turn that dirt into soil and your garden will be the better for it.
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