Soil Types and Soil Testing your Herb Garden Soil

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Your Herb Garden may contain one or more of the many Different Types of Soil

Soils differ in an infinite variety of characteristics. There are thousands of individual kinds, each different from others in the arrangement of the individual sand, silt, and clay particles, mineral composition, and content of organic matter. For simplicity, though, soils are generally broken down into four basic soil types.

Soil low in organic matter of 2.5% or less. The predominant soil type of the south central and desert Southwestern United States. High sand/clay, rock content.

Average organic matter of 2.5% to 3.5%. Good for your herb garden; Typical of the fertile Midwestern farm belt; rich in humus with good tilth that drains well.

High in organic matter of 4-5% and above. Glacier type soils typical in the North Central United States. Very rich but not very porous, slow drying.

High clay content. Miserable stuff in which to grow anything! Very poor ability to absorb water; dries very hard and is difficult to till.

See the article directory listed in our site map for specific reference material on soil types, fertility and the growing list of other helpful herb articles.

The next step is to insure that your herb garden soil contains the recommended nutrients

For those of us who want give our herb gardens the best, many garden suppliers provide an inexpensive, safe and easy to use testing kits. Typical Soil Test Kits will provide an accurate garden soil profile.

The results from a quality soil test include a summary of the available nutrients represented by the three numbers seen on all fertilizer containers:

(N) Nitrogen - Nitrogen is required by the plant mainly for leaf growth. Nitrogen stimulates the growth of foliage and is readily leached from the soil by rainfall and watering. Since nitrogen is quickly lost from the soil two or three applications per year may be required.

(P) Phosphorus (Phosphate) - Phosphorus gives a rapid and vigorous start to plants, promotes root formation while stimulating flowering and seed formation. It is not subject to heavy loss by leaching from watering or rainfall.

(K) Potassium (Potash) - Potassium produces strong stems and stand-ability while imparting increased vigor and disease resistance. It is also not affected by leaching.

(pH) Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of your soil. Soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is to be an acid soil and one with a pH higher than 7.0 is considered alkaline. Most plants can grow well in soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. A few plants may do better in soil with a pH outside of this range. Consult the articles on each herb for more specific information. Just remember that altering the pH in your herb garden soil takes time. Be patient and don't expect rapid changes. Work steadily towards giving your herb plants the ideal soil in your herb garden, for a bountiful harvest.

Soil Testing provides critical information, without which the herb gardener has no starting point from which to treat and enrich the herb garden soil.

Each of our garden suppliers has accurate information regarding organic fertilizer or chemical fertilizers and the advantages or disadvantages of each when used with the various soil types in your area.

The advantage of custom blended fertilizer allows you to not over-applying one nutrient while shorting your herbs of another. It saves you money while providing healthier herb harvest!

Better Soil = Better Plants

Annual Soil Testing using quality soil test kits is the basis for any successful herb garden or herb growing enterprise. It's the plain, simple truth. Find out how simple and easy the process of soil testing in your herb garden really is!