Adding Organic Matter

You’ll notice the soil in your flower bed has a certain feel to it. It may be sandy, dig easily and dry quickly after a rainy spell: you have an overall sandy soil. Or, you may notice it compacts dense and hard when dry, but is slick and sticky when wet: a predominantly clay based soil. Some gardeners are lucky enough to have a naturally easy to work, fertile loam.

Air and Moisture in Soil

Plant roots need not only the minerals in soil, but also air and moisture. In a sandy soil, the fast drainage means you would need to water more often and more nutrients are lost to leaching. The dense nature of a clay soil causes it to drain too slowly. It holds nutrients well, but is difficult to rewet once dry. A good loam has a combination of sand, clay, silt and organic matter; it holds both air and moisture well so it stays somewhat moist — yet is well drained.

Organic Matter in Soil

No matter which kind of soil you have, it is helpful to add organic matter to it when you do the initial soil preparation for your flower garden. In sandy soil, the organic matter works as a sponge, helping to hold moisture (and nutrients) so it won’t dry out so fast. In a clay soil, the organic matter helps spread the soil particles further apart so there is space for both air and moisture to move through it more easily. If you have loamy soil, adding organic matter at the outset is not as critical, but won’t hurt, either.

Keep Garden Soil Healthy

Organic matter can supply a wide range of micronutrients that your soil may lack; it also enables the soil microbes to thrive. These are important to maintaining the health and fertility of your soil over time.

Moderate Soil pH Naturally

Another benefit to using organic matter is that it can help moderate your soil pH. In cases where your pH is only slightly too alkaline or too acidic, organic matter may be the only amendment you need to add to bring it into an acceptable range for most plants.

Sources of Organic Matter

There are many sources of organic matter: home made compost, commercially produced compost, rotted down shredded leaves or leaf mold, aged stable manure and bedding, herbicide free grass clippings, well aged wood chips or wood shavings, double shredded bark or fines, spoiled hay or straw, milled sphagnum peat moss (sold by the bale), or you may find local materials such as apple pomace, spent mushroom soil, or rice hulls.

Use What You Have

Use what is available locally at a reasonable cost. If possible, use a wide variety of different materials.

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