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02-10-2004, 02:30 AM

(Ted Shoemaker) wrote:

What exactly is good soil?

It depends upon the plant. Every plant likes things a little different.
That gives it an advantage over other plants.

Every plant has a pH preference. Some plants like a acid soil others
like neutral or basic soils. Some are tolerant of pH and some are not.

Some plants like a soil rich in nutrients and some like a poor soil
where other plants can't compete. Some plants like water soluable
nutrients, some like organic nutrients and some like mineral nutrient
sources. Some plants need certain nutrients and some need to avoid
certain nutrients. And some plants don't care.

Some plants like sand, some like a rich loam, some like clay, and some
like water. Some like a certain combination of the above and some don't
care..

Some plants like a well drained soil, some like an arrid soil, some like
a most soil, and some like living in wet soil. Some like a combination
of the above and some don't care.

Some plants like a soil rich in microbes and some like a sterile soil.
Some don't care and some are very microbe specific.

So good soil only make sense if you know what is going to be planted.

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