2. Soil
Ask someone to draw a tree and often you’ll get something looking a bit like this.
But that’s only half of the picture. Usually, more than half of a plant exists underground. Yet, as gardeners we often neglect this fact and ignore the most important aspect of gardening… the soil!
Soil has an impressive food web of predators and prey. Earthworms, bacteria, nematodes, amoebas, invertebrates and fungi all coexist. They decompose organic matter and ultimately make nutrients available to feed our plants. “Soil” is different to “dirt,” in that soil is living and dirt isn’t. “Dirt” consists only of particulates such as sand, silt and clay particles. It doesn’t have organic matter or living things.
Great soil is critical to successful gardening. Preparing the soil for your garden is crucial to successful establishment of a low maintenance, edible garden. Every garden should be developed ‘from the ground up’.
2.1. Potting Mix Experiment
A few years ago, I set up an experiment to highlight the importance of soil in obtaining great results in the garden. To do this we compared eleven different types of potting mix and soils covering a range, including premium potting mixes and certified organic potting mixes. We potted up capsicum seedlings into each of the potting mix.