by Mary Free and Christa Watters, Extension Master Gardeners
This post introduces the new word(s) added to our Illustrated Glossary. You may recognize some words as common gardening or botanical terms—although commonly used words are not necessarily commonly understood or their usage commonly agreed to. Other words may be more obscure, found mostly in flora guides and research papers. In any case we hope you find them interesting and even helpful in your gardening endeavors.
Poor soil can be one of the biggest challenges gardeners face. Soil composition can vary greatly, depending on geography and climate zone, underlying geology, recent and current seasonal weather and other factors, but the basic materials for good soil are minerals, organic matter, air, and water.
Because good soil is the foundation for healthy plants, before you choose plants for your garden make sure you know the composition of your soil—is it mostly clay, sand, silt, loam?—and whether it requires the addition of humus or mulch? To learn more about these terms, click here.