Every good gardener knows that soil drainage issues must be addressed before planting. Since most plants need well-drained soil, testing the garden soil for adequate draining prior to planting is one guarantee that your plant will thrive. Remember that only a few soil types have perfect drainage suitable for planting. Sandy soils drain too quickly, and clay soils hold too much moisture.
Read on to find out how you can test your garden soil, assess if it has adequate drainage, recognize any issues, and correct the problems.
•Do this test on a mildly sunny day so that the ground is not too dry or too wet for the activity. In the middle of your garden area, or the garden bed you intend to plant on, dig a hole one to two feet wide and one to two feet deep. Do this with the aid of a garden spade, and a ruler.
•Fill the hole with water and record the level of water using the ruler. Make a note of the water level every fifteen minutes. Do this repeatedly until you record sufficient measurements as to arrive at an hourly drainage rate.
•Your garden soil has adequate drainage if the water level drops close to an inch per hour. If this isn’t the case, then your garden soil may be a little sandy. You can treat the soil with organic matter like compost and peat moss. These can help hold moisture longer.
•Apart from the mentioned organic matter, you can also amend the soil using compost or coarse shredded bark. Another option for moist soils is to install a French drain under the garden bed. A French drain is a ditch or trench stuffed with gravel or crushed rock. This layer allows water to drain onto an outlet.
If these steps prove too tedious, there is a simpler way to test soil:
•Dig a hole from your garden bed. Collect a small amount of soil, scraping along the side of the dug hole.
•Clutch some of the moist soil sample in your hand. Squeeze and open your hand. You will know if your soil is sandy when the sample falls apart and feels crumbly. If it holds together, it might either contain too much clay, or ample loam or silt.
Serious gardeners also need to consider testing for soil nutrients: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. You might even want to test for acid-alkaline balance with the help of a pH test kit. There are store-bought kits to test for such soil properties.
However, testing the quality of your soil is the first step to welcoming a new patch of earth to tend. By doing these simple checks, you will save yourself the disappointment of seeing your plant struggle with too sandy or too moist soil which holds it aground. Remember that most plants need well-drained soil and cannot endure wet or soggy conditions. Make this a habit and you can easily identify the best steps to correct any problems in your garden soil.
