#Test Soil

Your soil matters more than your seed packet Quick test: Dig 20cm down. Squeeze soil. Sticky ball = clay Crumbly = sandy Clay? Add compost yearly. Sandy? Add compost yearly too — but for moisture retention. Do you know your soil type? Follow for foundational improvements. #ukgardening #gardenbasics #soilhealth #gardeningtips #flowergarden #claysoil #soilimprovement #gardenprep

EP3: Soil. Plants don’t just grow in soil. They breathe through it. Plant roots take in oxygen from tiny air spaces in the soil. If soil stays waterlogged or compacted, those air spaces disappear. Roots can’t breathe properly. Growth slows, plants struggle. So before worrying about fertiliser or feeds, it helps to know what soil you’re actually working with. Here’s a quick way to figure it out. First — grab a handful of damp soil. Rub it between your fingers. If it feels gritty and falls apart easily, you probably have sandy soil. If it feels smooth and sticky and forms a tight ball, it’s clay. If it feels crumbly and soft and holds together gently, that’s lovely loam. You can also try the squeeze test. Squeeze the soil in your hand. If it won’t hold a shape, it’s sandy. If it holds a firm lump and feels heavy, it’s clay. If it forms a soft ball but breaks easily, that’s balanced soil. Once you know your soil, the job becomes much easier. Sandy soils drain quickly. So the goal is holding water and nutrients. Add compost, mulch often, and grow flowers that enjoy sharp drainage. Clay soils hold water tightly. So the goal is adding air and structure. Compost, leaf mould, and organic matter help open it up. Loam already has a good balance of air, water and nutrients. So the job is simply protecting that structure with mulch and gentle cultivation. Most gardens aren’t perfect soil. But flowers don’t need perfect. They just need soil that holds moisture, lets roots breathe, and keeps improving over time. Start by understanding the soil you already have. Everything else gets easier from there. Save this for the next time you’re wondering what’s going on under your feet. Follow to design and grow your own cut flowers garden this summer. Share if you have a friend who wants to grow flowers too. ***** Urban cut flower farmer, sharing my love of cut flowers & growing, all in 1/2 hour chunks of the day. Mum Wife Business Geek 18,000 flowers & a little field

Muddy boots = a signal from your soil.⁠ Working wet, sticky, clumpy ground compresses all the tiny air pockets roots need to grow. Once it’s compacted, fixing it is way more work than just waiting.⁠ Good news: waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. There’s a whole list of productive things you can do right now while the soil dries out.⁠ ⁠ Friday’s blog has the full list. Newsletter subscribers get it first.⁠ ⁠ Sign up at the link in bio. 🌱⁠ ⁠ #soilhealth #gardeningtips #springgardening⁠

Soil blocking eliminates the need for flimsy plastic trays that need replacing every couple of years. It also helps to establish healthier root systems with air pruning. When a root reaches the edge of the block, it stops growing outwards and instead creates a more fibrous root system. Soil blocking also speeds up the planting out process and reduces transplant shock. Happy plants mean less pests and diseases 🌱 Order your soil blocker now on my website (link in bio). #soilblocker #soilblocking #soilblocks #gardening

If your clay soil feels more like concrete than dirt, this is exactly what I’m doing to start breaking it down and turning it into real, plant friendly soil 👇 🔧 Step-by-step clay soil fix: 1️⃣ Auger it out Use an auger bit to punch holes about 8 to 10 inches away from roots so air and water can finally penetrate. 2️⃣ Fill with compost ♻️ Organic matter feeds soil life and helps clay loosen over time. 3️⃣ Top dress and mix 🪣 Spread compost across the surface and lightly work it in with a pick or garden fork. 4️⃣ Repeat every season 🌦️ Clay changes slowly, but consistency builds real soil structure. Clay may win the first round… but it does not win the war 💪🌿 Follow @KaizenGardener for real world fixes for tough Clay soil. #KaizenGardener #ClaySoil #SoilHealth #GardeningTips #Compost

👀Before you swipe — hear me out. Getting your soil tested might be the most important thing you ever do for your garden. If you’re starting from scratch and have zero idea what soil health even means, that’s exactly why this matters. You need to know what’s in your soil before you can do anything else. Before the soil journey. Before the amendments. Before any of it. And when you do test — sample from where you’re actually going to garden. Not the edge of the woods. Not along a path. The exact spot where you intend to put seed to soil. Because here’s the thing — if your soil is not alive, you’ve got some work ahead of you. But if it’s teeming with life? The possibilities for what you can grow this year are kind of endless. The worm will turn once you start understanding what’s actually happening beneath your feet. 🪱 And yes — even if your ground is frozen right now, you can still collect a sample and send it to your local cooperative extension or a mail-in lab. Spring prep starts now. 🌱 Have you ever tested your soil? Drop a yes or no below.

If you’re gardening in clay soil — or your soil is starting to feel a bit heavy — you’ll know the struggle… rock hard when dry, sticky and waterlogged when wet 😮‍💨 One of the simplest ways we improve drainage and loosen things up naturally is sugar cane mulch 🌾 Layer it generously over your beds (and even lightly into them if you want a quicker fix), then let nature do the work. As it breaks down, it: • Adds organic matter • Encourages worms and soil life • Improves soil structure • Helps water move through instead of sitting on top • Protects the surface from baking hard in the sun Over time, the soil becomes darker, softer, and far easier to work with. For particularly heavy clay, gypsum can also help. It works by helping clay particles separate, improving structure without altering pH — especially useful if your soil compacts after rain. Other simple ways to improve heavy soil: • Compost (the more diverse the better — kitchen scraps, aged manure, garden waste) • Green manure crops (oats, lupins, clover) • Leaf litter • Avoid walking on wet beds — or plant in rows as we do • Keep soil covered year-round with mulch The key is consistency. You don’t fix heavy soil in one season — you build it, layer by layer. Healthy soil = better drainage, stronger roots, happier plants 🌱

Your soil is either feeding your plants… or starving them. Blend it correctly. Don’t layer it. Use amendments. Bad soil equals weak plants. Every. Time. Comment growing for my guidebook and complete detail on the right soil mixtures 👇🏼 #gardeningtips #soilhealth #startingagarden

One of the most important gardening jobs you can do right now is simply checking your soil. Grab a handful and actually look at it. Is it dry on the top but wet underneath? Wet on top but dry below? Are there worms? Rocks? Is it crumbly or compact? The condition of your soil now will decide how well your garden grows next season. Healthy soil grows healthy plants. Take a minute and check it today. If you’ve already done a soil check recently, tell me what you found

Join my garden community for more: link in bio 3 part potting soil recipe: - 1 part sphagnum peat moss - 1 part worm cast (or compost/manure) - 1 part pumice (not perlite) Just add your favorite fertilizer and it’s ready to go #gardening #soilhealth #soil #pottingsoil #growfood

Soil blocking eliminates awkward tray storage, reduces my support of the petroleum industry, microplastic contamination of my soil, and creates healthier plants. Just so many wins! The US horticulture industry alone generates an estimated 350 million pounds of plastic pots and trays annually, the majority of which contributes to landfill waste. Years ago when I stated my farm, I knew I wanted to find a better way—so i dedicated myself to mastering soil blocking. Soil blocking is a method of seed starting that didn’t require a plastic container: all you need is a soil blocker and a tray to put them on (I prefer one with a slight lip and a solid bottom for watering). Not only does this eliminate my need to purchase seed trays as they break down, it also produces healthier seedlings—as the roots grow, they air prune themselves once the hit the ends of the block. This is in contrast to what happens in a tray: as roots grow, they continue to circle inside, often leading to rootbound seedlings and stressed plants later. Want to learn more? Just comment “block” and I’ll send you a link to my free YT video that will show you the ropes! #seedstarting #soilblocking #garden #gardening #sustainable

Most garden problems start in the soil. That’s why testing before planting matters! When you understand what your soil actually needs, you stop guessing and stop wasting fertilizer. A soil test gives you clear answers so every plant gets what it needs to grow strong! With the MySoil® Soil Test Kit from Park Seed, you collect a soil sample, mail it in using the pre-posted envelope provided, and receive your results by email making it easy to start where it matters most: the soil! Because healthy gardens start at the roots. 🌱 #parkseed #soilhealth #soiltesting #smartgardening #gardentips