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McMinnville Garden Club - What is soil?
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Dirt…no SOIL…is a living thing. It is essential to gardening success.

Is your soil red? Brown? Gray? A lighter color can mean less organic material. Darker colors can mean it is wet, and water may pool on top. The types of soil are loam, sandy, and loam. Squeezing a ball of soil in your hand is a quick test to determine its type. If it is “cookie crumb” crumbly it is more loam, if it sticks together it is more clay, and if it does not make a ball, it is sandy. Loam is ideal.

How well does water permeate your soil? Ideal is permeable enough to absorb water to feed plants. If too sandy, water drains through. If too much clay, water and nutrients run off.

Does your soil have lots of Nitrogen for leafy growth, vibrant green color, and uptake of other nutrients? And Phosphorus for root development, flowering, and root production? And Potassium for plant health, disease resistance, and water regulation? Different plants have different needs. Flowering fruits like tomatoes, for example, want more potassium.

Test the pH levels, which means the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. The UT Extension Office will do the test for a nominal fee. At home tests are available at garden stores. Once you have your results, you can add limestone or sulfur to get to the balance you want for what you are planting. Generally, most plants respond best to neutral pH soil. Rhododendrons and blueberries like more acid. Lilies of the valley and lavender link more alkaline.

Once you get your soil to the preferences of your plants, mulch or add plant cover so it does not get washed away. Let the organic matter on top decompose and enrich the soil. Leave the microorganisms and living critters in place to break down the organic matter and to aerate.

TIP OF THE MONTH: The average annual temperature in Tennessee has increased by 5 degrees. As of 2023 Middle Tennessee is now in 7a rather than 7b temperature zone per the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. The zone helps to determine which plants, flowers, and vegetables will thrive in our area and survive the winter temperatures.