Soil is the first foundation of all gardening

While India was part of the British Empire an English botonist was sent out with the mission to teach modern farming techniques. The teacher quickly became the student. He found that many of the practices used by Indian farmers were more effective than the modern science he was sent to teach. Even before the chemical revolution had taken root he recognized the benefits of natural gardening.

One of Howard's statements from 1947 sums up the first principal of organic and natural gardening:

“The soil is, as a matter of fact, full of live organisms.It is essential to conceive of it as something pulsatingwith life, not as a dead or inert mass. There could be no greater misconception than to regard the earth asdead; a handful of soil is teeming with life. The living fungi, bacteria, and protozoa, invisibly present in thesoil complex, are known as the soil population. The population of millions and millions of minute existences,quite invisible to our eyes of course, pursue their own lives. They come into being, grow, work, and die, they sometimes fight each other, win victories, or perish; for they are divided into groups and families fitted to exist under all sorts of conditions. The state of a soil will change with the victories won or losses sustained; and in one or other soil or at one or other moment, different groups will predominate.” Sir Albert Howard 1947

Horticulturalists tell us that the success of any garden or landscape begins with healthy soil. This point can not be over emphasized. You must understand that soil is not an inert substance. In addition to its mineral content, a handful of rich garden soil contains billions and billions of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, mites, and insects all working in harmony to support life. The soil in your garden or under your lawn is a complete ecosystem unto itself. When you see a lush beautiful pasture covered with green grass, remember, the activity going on below the surface is responsible for what you see.

The balance between these variables; mineral content, consistency, organic content, moisture levels, location and daily sun exposure, plus the ever present pollution from the air and water, all make a difference. In the best soils the variables work together to produce optimal growing conditions. In the first section we will cover natural soil improvement and enhancement and in Section IV we will discuss increasing fertility for optimum results.

In the North Central Texas area we have two main soil types, clay and sand. Black gumbo, clay, predominates the area. It is is made up of a shallow layer of mineral rich soil over native limestone. It holds moisture well, too well. When wet, it expands and is very sticky. Upon drying it rapidly shrinks and cracks. The second type is sandy soil. Sandy soil is coarser and drains well. It is so porous that, without incorporating natural aides, it can support only grasses and weeds that can thrive under dry conditions. What determines the fundamental soil type is consistency. The foundation of all soils is mineral, basically rock. It is how that rock has been broken down over millions of years that determines its consistency.

At the very top of the soil pyramid is clay. Clay is made up of particles of 1/12,500 of an inch in size or smaller. This makes clay more dense and harder to work with than the various types of sands that are made up of larger particles. Because of its density a pound of dry powdered clay soil would take up less volume than a pound of dry sandy soil. Clay soil is not all bad. Its density packs in more essential minerals making them more available and numerous to support the growing process. Plants find it hard to grow in pure clay because it becomes too compacted when dry and holds in too much moisture when wet. Drought conditions make it hard for fresh water to penetrate sun baked clay.The high degree of expansion and contraction depending on moisture content can have a brutal effect on the concrete foundation of homes. Imagine what it does to tender plant roots! (continued)

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