I 've never had my soil tested, either. It is all in limestone, so very alkaline. Where my veggie garden is, the soil is lovely light sandy loam. It was brought in. The rest of the yard is not bad soil, just lots of 'flagstone'. I will have lovely paths and sitting areas, just cause I keep trying to dig holes. lol. In my old home, we had leda clay, I suspect like your adobe. In spring, it was referred to as gumbo, as the frost came out of the ground. I had a couple of sink holes in the old driveway. Here, everything seems fairly stable, just tough to dig holes ! !

Nancy.

I can't be bothered with soil testing. It would require multiple tests--different areas. And, retesting after amendments had been made to see what changes had been wrought. Not my cup of tea, I wing it.

My soil is mostly sand, and alkaline. There are some areas of red adobe. Clay soil has a lot of minerals. You can change the tilth with organic matter, compost and such. That will also bring the Ph value to a more neutral level.

I have found that amending soil is an on-going process. My soil needs so much added that I have to do some every year. No way could I do it all at once unless I had dumptrucks of soil brought in. That would require dumping it outside of the fence and me hauling it in with my little red Radio Flyer wagon. Uh uh! A little at a time works for me.

Lorna

I had the garden tested many years ago, don't even remember what the results were except all they recommended was Sulpomag which I never did.

It is just good, black dirt. It is still lacking humus which I am adding each year by mulching. The folks before us just used chemical fertilizers yearly and as a result the soil would just dry and crack open like a desert. My goal is to be able to dig with my hands and not a pick axe.

The above is referring just to the veggie garden area. The rest is really nice, black dirt. When I dig holes for new shrubs, I don't find many rocks in most places which is very rare for the Ozarks, but our rocks are those huge boulders like some have, just field stones.

Like Lorna, I wing it. I have lists of plants (with preferred ph indicated) that like lime which is necessary to add here. I give them a spoonful in spring.

The sulpomag can be solved with a spoonful of epsom salts added to any liquid fertilizer you're using, or just dissolved in water for sulphur and magnesium. The po can be added in the form of a spoonful of wood ashes. I add epsom salts to the juicy drink I give daylilies and roses in spring, and scatter wood ashes under selected plants.

I garden in sand. Amended sand. I like soil that looks like light chocolate cake when you dig in. It takes lots of amendments, but all the pine straw and leaves that fall here get back to the soil. I lean heavily to plants that like acid, sandy soil: dogwoods, azaleas, hydrangeas, camellias, gardenias.

I forgot to make a pic of my new compost heap when I was out making photos of the new kitty and purple heart.

Nell

I kind of wing it too although when I had a large vegetable garden I did have my soil tested once. I couldn't grow beets all I got were leaves. The soil test showed my soil was lacking potash, added some and boy the beets were great after that.

Annette

Edna,

Every Spring I say I'm going to do this..but never do! I guess I wing, too.

I have dense clay soil that has to be heavily amended or I wouldn't even be able to dig a hole. Heavy clay soil + Texas sun = bricks. That's what my unamended soil feels like, bricks!

I add home made compost (veggie scraps, grass, plant clippings), coffee grounds from Starbucks, pine needles and all the fallen leaves I can find.

Your gardens are simply beautiful, Edna..so whatever you are doing to your soil, just keep on doing it!

Marilyn

Dark, rich, loamy, free draining soil.
PH between 6 and 7.

Libby

The more I garden, the more I realize how important it is to constantly work on improving the soil with compost. I've never tested mine either but I think it's something I will eventually get around to. I hope to take a Master Gardener's program and it will probably be part of that education.

My garden is about 60 years old and has areas where the soil is pretty good loam and other areas where it's just Georgia red clay. I'm sure it's acid. How acid I don't know. I put lime in my alfalfa brew and in some of my planting holes, if I have some on hand.

Lately I've been buying mushroom compost, a couple of bags at a time, and spreading it around wherever there's a bare spot. The leaves will be falling soon and I will gather mine and some of my neighbors and compost them.

bloominganne

I have a variety of different soils. Our property sits on an East-facing hillside and the top of the hill is rocky alkaline and only grows buffalo grass and Spanish daggers. The barn is up there so that's ok. We have lots of trees, oak and native pecans so the lower end is rich loamy soil. It was only ever pasture land before this house was built in 1996 and I guess the last people who lived here before that were probably Native Americans, so this soil is virgin earth.

I have built some flower beds and planted St. Augustine around the house, put in a few fruit trees, but most of the land has just stayed as it was. I've never had the soil tested, it's not too hard to tell what kind of soil I have by looking at the plants that grow well in it.

We make a lot of compost from grass and leaves. We gather compost ingredients all around the neighborhood, very few of our neighbors attempt to grow anything in a flower or vegetable bed. Most of them have horses, cattle, donkeys, chickens, and goats. I only have chckens. The chicken manure and straw bedding is a big part of the compost that we make. Chicken is really hot, hotter even than green grass in the compost mix so it works fast.

I also use every bit of the compost that we make. I have a couple of large flower beds around the house and two enclosed planters out in the yard. And I have a rose garden that surrounds the 22'x44' patio. It has about 60 roses in it right now, I lost a couple this summer to the drought. All the ones that made it are doing well though.

I amend everything, including the lawn with compost about once a year. We don't use a whole lot of other stuff because of the ladybugs, bees, wasps and lightening bugs. They're kinda sensitive to chemicals and I really enjoy having them around in the summer time. I pull out the stoppers for the fire ants though, I would use just about anything to get them out of the yard.

Cheryl

I have never had soil tested.

I have pretty much the same as Marilyn. But alkaline. This area sits on top of lime stone.

I have made believers out of people regarding the use of leaves.

Had we not used tons of leaves, we would not have much garden yet.

I've never had my soil professionally tested. Unlike the other states, California does not offer low-cost soil testing through its agricultural extension. That makes soil testing a pretty expensive thing to do.

However I do think that soil is key to a good garden, and I took a soils class at a local community college. We did some simple tests on our own soils. I now know that my soil texture is a Sandy Clay or possibly a Sandy Clay Loam, and that it is quite alkaline. No surprises on the pH, but I didn't realize just how much sand was in my soil.

I do plan to get some more complete testing some day. In the meanwhile, you can do a lot with composts and mulches to improve either sandy or clayey soils, so I imagine they are just great for the combination.

It is pretty easy to test for soil composition of sand, silt, and clay, and the results can be surprising. I had always thought I had a clay soil. While there is an awful lot of clay in my soil, it is about 2/3 sand.

Here is a link to an article that explains how to test your own soil for its texture. Texture not only explains a lot about how a soil behaves, it also makes a difference in how much of an amendment to add, so it is a useful thing to know. Besides, it is fun to do.

Rosefolly

Here is a link that might be useful: Fine Gardening article on testing for texture

I really enjoyed reading all the responses. We have quite a variety of soils for cottage gardeners.

I just began my first semester in a class The Study of Soils. There are do-it-yourself kits at your local nurseries which cost about $17.00. That's my homework for next Friday.

This past year my garden has pretty much perished. I've neglected it, coupled with the drought, wrong plant selection and poor soil. What a better time to correct it with fall just around the corner.

Edna

Hi What is wrong with soil that only makes vines or foliage and little fruit?
TIA,
Linda

Usually when a garden (I'm speaking of veggie gardens here) has lush foliage and no fruit, there was an abundance of nitrogen fertilizer. That could have been commercial fertilizer, or some amendment like chicken litter.

Linda, What did you plant, and how did you fertilize?

Nell

I have a scant amount of dirt on top of caliche (a.k.a. hardpan). I don't even have builder's dirt on top of the native soil. It's tough going!!! (I've started a blog on growing on caliche, but it's in its infancy.)

I've never had my soil tested but I know the pH is very alkaline, and it's poor soil that needs EVERYTHING, especially iron and nitrogen. (Grin!) I use a combo of compost, fish emulsion, sea kelp, alfalfa pellets, and lots of mulch. I'm limited in what I can grow but feel pretty good about what I have in my garden after seven years. I think most people would have given up or put in all raised beds if they had my yard.

If the pics I took today on the disposable camera turn out, I'll post some in a few days.

Linda, what plants are you speaking of?

I had a cherry tree that didn't bare fruit. By simply pulling back the earth and exposing the lower truck and little bit of root I had cherries galore this year.

If your speaking of berries..they like acidic soil.

So it really depends on what plants your concerned about.

Edna

Hi, I was talking about tomato plants, pan squash the white kind, and zucchini.
Linda

I've got nice sandy loam, pH 7.2, which is slightly alkaline. Every spring I topdress with composted horse bedding (wood shavings and manure). I will use at least 5 pickup truck loads FULL to cover my gardens.

Linda, most likely, there is too much nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen helps the plants grow tall and lush, but prevents the plants from taking in calcium, which is necessary for tomatoes to bear fruit.

Or it could be a poor pollination issue. I had that problem last year with my pumpkins and squash. I attracted Mason bee's to my garden by building a home for them. Now they stay in my garden and I have more every year.

Edna

I've never had my soil tested either, but it is pretty clay-ey, and I am assuming it is relatively alkaline, since that is typical around here. I've been lasagna gardening at the new house, using leaves and grass clippings and buying compost for the top layer. I have compost bins, but haven't produced it in quantity yet! Last year, I made a huge area to store leaves, and have now used them all up, whether as lasagna garden layers, mulch, or as browns for the compost heap when I add veggie scraps.

I have clay soil for the most part and sand fill for the rest. I have added tons of compost, manure and peat.

The only testing I have done is pH testing and that was because I have a meter and I was curious. If I remember, I think the pH was around 7.

With adding so many ammendments over the years, I am not concerned. The newer beds get the same treatment and will come along the same way...it takes a few years though.

My property slopes down in the back. With composting all the weeds and planters dumped at the end of the season, over the years....we have been able to regain quite a large area in the back and it is now garden.......my holding beds. Good soil that compost!!!!

Sierra

It took me a few days to have time for this, but thank you Edna and you, Rosefolly, for inspiring me to figure this out. I had a soil test kit I swiped from my son so I did that, and did the soil levels from the link Rosefolly provided. Yay, I have it good! : ) It looks like my soil is about 6.5 for acidity. So surprising since California is so alkaline, but then again we are in a flood plain and a former walnut orchard, plus I have added stuff for at least ten years now. My soil looks to be almost 50/50 silt and sand, borderline nice loam, with a frosting of clay. So the silt is most likely what gives me the grief of rock hard crust and slow water absorption. Anything that says needs fast drainage does not do well here since it fogs in and stays drippy wet for weeks at a time in winter. With the NPK tests, it looks a bit weak in nitrogen, which is a bit hard to believe since I had six foot tall everything this year, but maybe I need sweetpeas everywhere for nitrogen fixing, huh? : ) What else is nitrogen fixing besides legumes?
Again, thanks, this so encouraging to me : ) Debbie

Sweetpeas certainly will do the trick, Debbie :-)

Edna