Quick Tip: Focus on Soil Drainage When Starting a Garden

By Jennifer Poindexter

When you’re searching for the right soil to grow crops, it can feel overwhelming. You hear talk about soil acidity, soil type, and soil drainage.

Where should you start? In my earlier years of gardening, I felt overwhelmed, too. Until I realized soil drainage was a good starting point.

Here’s why I believe soil drainage should be the main focus when starting a garden:

Quick Tip – Start with Well-Draining Soil

Different plants have different needs around the garden. Some prefer highly nutritious soil, others prefer soil with fewer nutrients.

Some plants like alkaline soil, while others prefer highly acidic soil. Then there’s the matter of drainage. It’s rare to find plants which thrive in oversaturated soils. They exist, but it’s less-likely.

If you’re new to gardening, it’s wise to concern yourself with the drainage of the soil. Selecting a soil that’s well-draining, ensures your plants won’t be left in standing water.

Oversaturated roots, leads to fungal issues and suffocation of the plant. Even lower quality, well-draining soil can be amended to increase the soil’s acidity or nutrients.

For these reasons, I believe it’s vital to look at how the soil drains when selecting what to plant in. Then you may focus your efforts on providing the additional ingredients your plants may need.

Keep in mind, it’s important to research what you’re growing as different plants may have different needs.

You should also be mindful to plant items together which thrive in similar growing conditions. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of gardening information that’s out there, start with what impacts the majority of plants in a positive way.

In this case, it’s ensuring plants aren’t grown in oversaturated conditions. Then put your efforts towards amending the soil to meet the needs of individuals or groups of plants in your garden.