But does the ideal soil exist that all your favorite plants like and if so, what would it look like? From a purely visual and physical point of view, the ideal soil for healthy plant growth should have these properties:

Good garden soil is the most important prerequisite for garden plants to thrive
  • crumbly and fluffy,
  • permeable,
  • moderate and
  • capable of storing water, air and all nutrients

With the manual method you can find out quickly. While a light base does not hold together when kneaded by hand, heavy bases are usually extremely easy to shape, similar to modeling clay. The special advantage of light soils is their high sand content, which absorbs a lot of air and helps them to warm up quickly in the spring months. On the other hand, the storage capacity of this earth for absorbing nutrients is quite low. Heavy soils usually contain a larger amount of clay or loam, but only allow moisture through with difficulty. The golden mean for the garden would therefore be medium-heavy soil, in which the proportions of air, water, minerals and other nutrients are in the middle.

Equally important is the proportion of organic substances in the soil, which is of particular importance for plant growth and subsequent high yields. A fairly simple test provides an initial overview:

The heavier the soil, the slower the earth particles settle

  1. A screw-top jar is filled to a quarter with garden soil.
  2. Now fill up with fresh tap water up to one centimeter below the edge of the lid.
  3. Screw the lid tightly onto the jar, shake vigorously and leave to stand for about 30 minutes.
  4. If the water remains cloudy for a long time, the soil is heavy. The sand particles from light soils would settle much faster.

Plants and their demands on the garden soil

soil types shrubs Perennials & Flowers
Sandy and light soils Vinegar, service pear, sea buckthorn, juniper, ornamental quince Arnica, garden sage, cornflower, lavender, catnip, iris
Clay and heavy soils Elderberry, Laburnum, Lilac, Hawthorn, Holly, Arborvitae pennywort, monkshood, golden cod, daylilies, Chinese reed
Acidic soil (pH between 4.0 and 4.5) Broom, hydrangea, magnolia, rhododendron, blueberry, camellia Arnica, Busy Lizzie, Primrose, Lily, Bergenia, Pink Rose
Alkaline soil (pH greater than 7.2) Ornamental cherry, ornamental apple, fruit trees, butterfly bush, barberry Blue cushion, poppy, peony, vetch, zinnia, rose, aster, chrysanthemum

Floor care tips:

  • Regular soil analyzes with pH testers from pharmacies or specialist garden shops bring clarity to the acidity of the garden soil. Too acidic soil can be regulated with liming.
  • Rigorous digging in autumn helps clay and loamy soils to become looser and crumbly over the winter months. You should only loosen light garden soil a little with a digging fork and thus supply it with air so that the microorganisms are not disturbed too much.
  • Add bentonite to sandy and particularly light soils once a year, as clay minerals naturally increase the storage capacity for minerals, nutrients and water.

Fertilizer and how it affects your plants

  1. Organic fertilizer: is processed into nutrients by the microorganisms in the soil (compost, horse or cow manure, horn shavings, (32.93€) bone meal).
  2. Mineral fertilizer: usually works very quickly, but only for a short time. Fertilization should be extremely targeted and only with the required amount to prevent over-fertilization.
  3. Organic-mineral fertilizer: a highly recommended mixture because the nutrients it contains are available to the plants immediately and for a longer period of time.
  4. Liquid fertilizers: mostly water-soluble concentrates, which also have to be used very responsibly. No long-term effect, as absorption takes place immediately, so add fertilizer from time to time.
  5. Long-term fertilizers: Due to their composition, they work in such a way that the plants can be supplied with nutrients gradually but permanently.

tips and tricks

An organic fertilization of the soil, for example with self-produced humus from the composter, should always have priority, because it is of existential importance for the soil fertility.

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Care tips