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 | Soil is far from dull stuff. It is made up of humus (organic matter) and three different types of particle: clay, silt and sand. It provides a plant with an anchor for its roots, its water and its nutrients.
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Did you know?
When you look at a border, all you see is 'topsoil'. Dig down 30cm to 60cm (1ft to 2ft) and things change. You’ll see a clear boundary between the topsoil and â€Èٳܲú²õ´Ç¾±±ô’ – mucky stuff that plants won’t grow in. In some new gardens, especially on estates built on heavy soils, that clay subsoil from footings etc, has been spread over the natural topsoil and then covered with a few inches of indifferent topsoil and then turfed.
It’s worth checking because if the topsoil layer is only a few centimetres thick, subsoil can cause problems:
- If it's clay - water logging in winter
- If it's sandy or chalky - dehydration in summer
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 | But don’t despair, reach for the ‘old faithful’ - (well-rotted) bulky organic manure - and you can improve things greatly.
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