KNOW YOUR SOIL

You will need to find out exactly what type of soil you have in your garden as this will let you understand what your soil needs and what plants you can grow in it. You have to determine whether the soil is heavy(clay) or light(sandy), description is in prepare your soil. If you have a plentiful source of gum leaves or bark, make good use of it!  If you have a mulcher, shred the leaves and bark, then you can use this material directly into your soil or in the compost heap. Gum Leaves may take time to break down, but they make good soil improver – so don’t wastethem. Pine needles mulched will be good in sandy soils as they are acidic, perhaps you use them once at the start, then about every 3 years, to maintain the right p.H.

Soils can be acid or alkaline and this will show in a pH test. A pH test is simple and it will tell you, on a scale of 1 to 14, what sort of soil you have. Acid soils have a pH below 7 whilst alkaline soils are higher. Neutral pH is 7. Drainage is also important as a plentiful supply of water, poor drainage can have a big impact on soil.

Bad drainage can be a disaster in clay soils, whereas sandy soils will drain away too quick if drainage is excessive!. If you are doing container growing, I recommend some form of crocking, it may be old fashioned, but it always worked!. 

KNOW YOUR SOIL

Soil test kits are simple to use although they tend to show the pH as a colour not a number. Acid soil shows as yellow-orange, neutral soil turns the solution green and alkaline soil turns it dark green. The kits range in price from a few dollars up to forty dollars or more.Soil can gradually become acidic due to the decomposition of organic matter.

The essential nutrients available for plant growth alter dramatically as soil gets more acidic. Phosphorus availability is maximal above pH 6.5. Decreasing the pH to 5.5 reduces available phosphorus. Many disease producing fungi are a lot more active in acidic soils too.

See this (Link to page 3) for more information on the most common types of soil and how to tell what kind of soil you have in your garden.