When starting to think about a garden, the best thing you can do is think about the project based on the natural conditions of the place. That is, what characteristics does the surface in question have, if it has different levels, if the sun illuminates all the corners or are there differentiated areas, if there are wet and dry spaces and what is the climate in which the space is located.
But in addition, it is important to study the soil characteristics Well, the type of plants you can grow as well as their needs will depend on it. There are species that are appropriate for certain types of soil or species that you can grow in certain sectors but not in others, paying attention to the particular characteristics of each sector.
Types of soils
To distinguish the types of soils, the best thing that could happen is to know the previous history of the place, if there has been vegetation there before, if there was a construction before, if it was a virgin area, etc. This information will be relevant when analyzing the soil and its composition.
According to soil texturethat is, how it looks and how it feels, it is possible to distinguish four types of soil:
– Clay floor: it is a type of compact soil and we could even say that rubbery that does not allow water to penetrate well.
– Stony ground: it is a soil that has many stones and that is why the cultivation of plants is difficult. The land is also dry and compact.
– Sandy ground: Unlike clay soil, this soil is loose and dry so the water is absorbed quickly.
– Loamy soil: it is a light and loose soil that presents a large amount of silt (river sediment), humus and organic matter, and that is why it is very fertile.
When thinking about the soil, it is important to take into account three factors: the richness of the soil, the drainage and the temperature. Each soil will be poor or rich in nutrients while the lightness of the soil will affect the absorption capacity of the water. To get an idea, the ideal is that the water takes up to 5 seconds to be absorbed and remains in the ground for an hour.
Soil depth
Once the type of soil in the garden has been distinguished, it will be useful to know its depth as there are plants with generous roots that need a great depth so that they can spread without limitations. Are considered deep soils those that exceed 2 meters in depth and they allow even trees to develop in them.
The shallow soils are no more than 50 cm deep and generally these are soils that have been filled in with farmland. In them it is only possible to plant small plants.
