A lush garden makes any property look more inviting. Whether you want to grow a garden so you can provide your own sustainable fruits and vegetables to your family or you just want to add texture and color to your property, you have an open landscape before you to work with.
Growing a garden doesn’t have to be difficult once you realize where to start. The best gardens begin with the right topsoil. Learn what topsoil is, what makes it important, and why you need it for your garden to succeed. Finally, you’ll learn some of the top soil tips for a thriving backyard that you can use year after year.
What Is Topsoil?
As the name implies, topsoil is basically the top layer of soil in your yard. What you have now is your native soil, or the soil that your home was built on.
This soil has its own nutrition and natural organic materials mixed into it, but it can be easily rinsed out of natural nutrition based on how much rainfall you get and how much soil erosion you experience on your property. Topsoil is an added element of nutrition and density your native soil needs to create the best base for your plants to thrive in.
Why Is Topsoil Important?
Imagine cooking a meal and using no seasonings to make the dish taste delicious. Sure, you have a meal and you’ll get fed, but you won’t feel satiated. This is how topsoil relates to your gardening project. As you explore online searches for ‘soil delivery near me’, you’ll realize that many topsoil suppliers make their own topsoils and enrich them with nutrients and other additives intended to ‘season’ plants and help them thrive.
Topsoil is important because your natural or preexisting soil may not have the nutrients or density to provide a healthy environment for plants to thrive from seeds or seedlings on. You can even have your topsoil custom-crafted for your landscape based on the zone you live in and the types of plants you want to garden with.
Why Do You Need Topsoil For Your Garden To Thrive?
Your existing soil may be too loose or dry to fully support the tender roots of plants you wish to grow. Or, it may be too acidic or have a base that is too neutral for pickier plants to thrive. Essentially, if you want to make gardening easier, you’ll add topsoil to your garden project.
It’s best to buy your soil (as well as mulch and other garden necessities) in bulk so you can have everything delivered all at once and save money on delivery fees. You may even get a discount on your purchase if you buy large quantities at once for your entire yard. You can always store leftover soil in a dry and cool space, such as a storage shed or garage, to use in future seasons.
Top Soil Tips For A Thriving Backyard
If you want to get the most out of your backyard this season and beyond, follow these types for a healthy and thriving backyard.
Not All Soil Is The Same
There are several types of soil you can use based on the type of garden you want to plant, your planting zone, and even the type of soil you already have. For example, there are loamy soils, peat soils, sandy soils, clay soils, and other types.
You need to know the type of soil you have as well as the type of soil(s) you need for your backyard project so you get the best results. Your project may require more than one type of soil to complete the project or even a customized blend of several types of soils to get the continued results you want.
You’ll Want To Till First
Just like you have to prep your home for remodeling and other projects to make it ideal for your needs, you have to prep your landscape so it can meet your needs. Hard-packed soil is often too dry and hardy for new plants to thrive in.
You want to mix soil up so it’s looser and oxygen-packed for optimum planting. Tilling also helps break up thick dirt clods, making the soil easier to mix with other elements and organic matter and giving the soil more natural drainage.
Native Soil Isn’t All You Need
If your garden could thrive with just the soil you have, you would already be having a thriving garden year after year. Instead, you’re likely to have lots of native weeds and grasses.
Most native soils are only sustainable for the plants that grow there naturally, so trying to plant non-native vegetables, fruits, shrubs, and even flowers won’t be too successful without composting and adding in a fresh coat of healthy and nutritious topsoil. You can add fertilizer, peat, and other agents to your soil to make it healthier and better suited for your garden needs based on the type of garden you want to grow.
Getting Started On Your New Garden
The key to making your backyard garden thrive is to have patience and understand the value of the soil you use. With diligence and practice, you can make your backyard as beautiful as the rest of your home. Your efforts to beautify your landscape with easy gardening tips can pay off for years to come.
