Gardening Soil - Six Different Types

One cannot realistically come up with a nice garden without handling the dirty part – the soil. A good gardener knows how to make the soil work for the plants’ advantage.

There are six different types of gardening soil and each of them has its group of patronizing plants. The six basic types of soil are the clay, the sandy soil, the silty one, the peaty, the chalky and the loamy soil.

Clay soils are sticky and lumpy whenever wet and are rock-hard whenever dry. They have very few spaces for air and have poor draining performance. During spring, this type of soil warms very slowly and is quite heavy to cultivate. With proper drainage though, plants can sufficiently grow well from clay soils as this can hold and retain more nutrients than the other soils. Perennial plants like the Helen’s flower, the Aster and the Weigela Shrub are some kinds of plants that thrive on clay soils.

Sandy soils have the gritty texture among the other gardening soil types. This type of soil usually lack nutrients as they get easily washed out and the sand rapidly dries out in warm weather. The shrub cystisus, the tulip bulb and the tree mallow shrub can survive in sandy soils.

Silty soils are soapy and smooth to the touch. They can retain moisture and are therefore richer in nutrients. If managed well, this can be a very good type of soil and easy to cultivate. Some examples of plants that grow on silty soils are the Mahonia shrub, the perennial New Zealand flax and the ornamental vine.

Peaty soils are darker in color and highly liquid retentive. This is great for plant growing especially if added with fertilizers. They have higher content of the organic matter peat, just because the soil’s high acidic nature prevents its decomposition.
The shrubs Heather, the Lantern Tree and the Witch Hazel can grow on acidic peaty soil.

Chalky soils are usually stones and alkaline, with a ph level of 7.5 or more. This kind of soil usually lacks iron and manganese, which can result to leaves yellowing and prod growth. Using fertilizers can remedy this situation. The Lilac tree and the Madonna lily bulb flourish best in chalky soils.

Among the gardening soil types, the perfect, nutrient filled kind is the loamy soil. It is moisture retentive and is quite easy to cultivate. The Wisteria climber, the black bamboo and the rubus shrubs are just among the other plants that easily grow on loamy soils.

Needless to say, though, gardeners are not letting themselves be limited by what the present soil surroundings offer. Gardening soil may now be ‘altered’ or ‘amended’ based on the plants’ soil ph and soil property requirements. This is made possible by the use of organic materials in the forms of manure, leaf molds, bone leaf, composts and even synthetic fertilizers. Clay and rocky soil can now be lightened and even sandy soils can be added with substances.