Gardening Topsoil
What is Gardening Topsoil? It is the soil at the surface of the earth which has the most organic matter in it and is comprised of sand, clay particles and humus, the three basic groups of organic matter.
Topsoil is formed from the chemical composition of various rocks and materials which determine whether your soil is acid, alkaline, and sand, clay or neutral. Please note that layers of small rock are not soil and will not grow anything.
Topsoil is full of worms, microorganisms and organic matter. Healthy topsoil contains several living organisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa (single cell animals) nematodes (non-segmented worms), arthropods (insects), spiders and centipedes which range from the microscopic to inches in length. Earthworms and larger organisms such as voles, moles and gophers play important roles in recycling and providing good soil structure. Other organic matter such as leaves, dead plants and petals and animal droppings are constantly provided in topsoil.
Ideal gardening topsoil is called Loams because it has the best amounts of clay, silt and sand which most plants prefer because they can easily draw nutrients from it. Good topsoil also means you will water less, have fewer insects and fewer diseases to your, plants giving you a better crop yield be it vegetables or flowers.
Since topsoil varies in texture, content and color by regions it will deliver nutrients, air and water to your plants differently. For instance a soil with a high clay content (very hard) will make the soil heavy causing air and water to have trouble passing through it while sandy soil (to much sand) will not hold moisture or vital nutrients because the water drains to quickly loosing both.
To correct these problems modify the soil by adding humus or compost mix in addition to organic materials to increase the water holding capacity and making the soil easier to work with for planting and making plants more compatible when planted. When purchasing topsoil you could be getting anything because it is just SURFACE SOIL so know what you are buying.
Good topsoil texture will be dark and crumbly. If you squeeze a handful of moist soil and if it breaks apart it is good quality but beware if it sticks to your hand there is too much clay if it’s watery and fells gritty, there is too much sand.
Whatever way you decide to purchase your soil, by the bag from your local garden center or nursery or from a garden supplier, Buyer Beware, you may be getting top quality soil from farmland or you maybe getting soil full of weeds, pesticides and gravel so try and check your soil before it is dumped if you purchase by the truckload.
For more information on topsoil go to Daves Garden or Mother Earth
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