keys to successful gardens come before any plantings and lie in the soil...

Preparation:

• sand • allows for drainage
• clay • has inorganic molecules to nourish plant growth, acts as a binding agent.
• soil • allows plants to have support, take root, gain nourishment and withstand predators
• vermiculite • allows for organic supplementary material that aerates the soil, retains water & promotes root growth.
• perlite • a volcanic material, like pumice, light-white rock that retains water in dry times.
• sphagnum moss • allows for organic material to retain water to withstand dry spells.
• rocks • allow for control of excessive water and provide minerals and microbe homes.

Select a site and watch for the following as you collect leaves and worms:

• light changing from dawn to dusk -- draw a map of where the sun is from hour to hour.
• water sources and flow -- note nearest water source and rainfall; make a map of flow.
• driest portions of the existing terrain or ground cover -- map out where the sands are thickest.

  You are ready to select plants that are appropriate to the conditions of

  • Water or rain and irrigation
  • energy or solar radiation
  • air or winds
  • landscape or soil

Weal