Good soil is an integral part of any healthy garden
"Food is as healthy as the soil in which it is grown"
Good soil is an integral part of any healthy garden, it becomes even more critical when we grow plants in pots in our terrace or balcony.
As our potted plants are not connected with natural soil ecosystem and hence it needs extra care & nutrients.
The proportion of sand, silt and clay particles determines the texture of our soil and affects drainage and nutrient availability, which in turn influence how well our plants will grow.
Our soil could be divided into three main types:
Clay Soil : This soil holds on to the nutrients well, but drains poorly. It can be heavy to dig when wet and can bake hard in summer.
This is found in northern plains of India. Its not ideal for gardening, but can be improved upon by adding organic matter like kitchen compost, cow dung manure or well decomposed garden waste.
Organic matter can provide much needed drainage in clay soil. You can even buy compost available with any online or offline gardening store.
Sandy Soil : Sandy soil has very large particles, which prevents it from holding moisture and nutrients.
Other than a few plants (Succulents and Adeniums ), this kind of soil is unsuitable for most plants. Sandy soil can be improved by adding organic matter like kitchen compost, cow dung manure or well decomposed garden waste.
Organic matter can help in water and nutrient retention.
Loamy soil: Loamy soil is great for gardening as it provides right amount of nutrients and good drainage.
Sairam, Thank you. Can you advise me where can I get loamy soil for my kitchen garden to be grown in pots and grow bags and the price or can I make it mixing ordinary red soil with pot mix and Verdi compost. If so what is the proportion.
With regards
Nagaraju Kakani
Hyderabad
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