Gardening is an art. It takes more than space to declare a green thumb. To this end it is imperative to know not only the equipment that helps in the endeavor but also the basics like soil types, fertilizer and of course watering patterns. The resources all over the internet and available in real time help you sort the information required and benefit from the right information. Different types of soils are required for growing different types of shrubs and trees. As the soil required for different types of plants is different identifying soil requirements as well as types of soil becomes necessary.
Improve the quality of soil:
While planting a flower bed, one should dig at least two feet deep while planting the lawn. Besides identifying soil requirements see if there are any lumps in the soil these should be broken first. Next ash, cinders, sand and soil should be spread well in the bottom soil. The top layer of the soil needs to be prepared for planting. A layer of good loam like peat moss, leaf mould, humus and green manure can be used to layer the top soil. As and when required you can even use ash as well as sand.
Lime helps in loosening the soil which can be used whenever required. The bottom soil can be enriched more with peat moss, grass clipping, compost as well as manure. It is a good habit to use sand, wood ash and lime also to improve the quality of the top layer of the soil. This is not actually necessary, but can be done as and when required for the soil.
Use soil testing kits:
For identifying soil requirements use kits for soil testing. These soil testing kits can be used to test soils. The soil is considered to be more acid if it ranks below 7 on the PH scale, and if it is above 7 it means that the soil is alkaline. Some plants do require acidic soils, which should be kept in mind while identifying soil requirements.
Growth of the plants depends greatly on the acidity or the alkalinity of the soil. Specific amounts of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus is required by plants to grow. It is necessary to know the type of soil you have as these are absorbed directly by the soil. To make absorption of these minerals possible it may be necessary to add peat or leaf mould to the soil.
So you are you interested on soil testing kits, Phil Caxton is a syndicated editor and writer of lawnmania.com. A focused website that offers the articles on garden soil preparation.