Choosing Soil
Growing plants, vegetables and flowers is more than just putting a seed in a pot and watching it grow. There are many conditions that will affect how and when your garden grows including temperature, water availability and the soil that your plants are growing in.

Posted Thursday, April 6, 2006

For the outdoor garden the soil has all winter to absorb the plants which have died off, regenerating nutrients and other elements for growing a healthy new spring crop. In the greenhouse, however, your soil is constantly at work and you will soon find that you will have to use fertilizer, and add other elements to your soil to keep it productive. In order for your plants to have healthy roots the soil you are using needs to be able to hold water. One of the elements that make your soil hold water is the addition of organic materials. While this means that you will have to repot certain larger plants, adding organic material to the soil as you plant your new plants, and when you are transplanting larger plants, will be easier than adding organic material to the soil the plant already has.

The soil in every pot and container needs to be allow air in for the roots to thrive. If you find that your potted or container garden has soil that is particularly hard- where no air is getting to the roots of your plant, introducing worms into your greenhouse is an easy way to counteract this problem. A low salt content is also needed for your plants to thrive in the greenhouse. How does salt get into your indoor garden? Salt is a "side effect" of the organic materials and the fertilizers that you add to the soil. Over fertilizing and adding too much organic material to your container and bedding soil will result in a higher salt content. In order to protect your plants from an over abundance of salt, keep your plants watered as water will keep the salt moving through the soil and away from your plant's roots.

While this is a problem that greenhouse gardeners are often faced with, tiny microbial pests in the greenhouse are sometimes needed for healthy plant soil. There are both good and bad "little bugs" to be found in your soil and when you have a healthy balance of the good you are going to keep fungus and bacteria at bay.

Finally, one of the most important aspects of gardening indoors for healthy soil, is to test your soil periodically. Take for example if you continually make your own potting soil by mixing several different types of material, testing your soil will tell you if your PH balance is good for the plants you intend to grow or if you are lacking any needed element.