If you want great results above ground you have to pay attention to what’s going on below ground. While we may talk a lot about fertilizing plants, it’s actually well-fed soil that’s the key to productive, sustainable gardens no matter where you live in Canada.
Soil—never call it dirt—is a combination of minerals (sand, silt and clay), organic matter, micro-organisms, water and air. The type of soil that most gardeners aim for is called loam, which has a mineral content of 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt and 20 percent clay.
In addition to the mineral content, really good garden soil should consist of at least 50% organic matter: that’s the stuff that’s responsible for most of your soil’s water-holding capacity, much of its nutrient value, improving its tilth (thereby increasing water and air penetration), and providing food for the millions of beneficial micro-organisms, bacteria, fungi and insects that are all a part of healthy soil. So whether you garden on a sand dune or in a clay quarry, the advice will always remain the same: add organic matter!
Organic matter comes in many forms and in various stages of decay: I like to think of it as a soil conditioner—something that improves both soil structure and fertility. Most soil conditioners also contain plant nutrients.