What Garden Soil Should Look Like… From A Soil Scientist

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/gardeningincanada06231
Have you ever wondered what your garden soil should look like? Should I be light and fluffy in organic looking. Or what does it mean when it’s really clumpy and aggregated. Well, truth is there’s nothing wrong with either one of these Soils. They simply just need to be managed differently to yield you a beautiful garden. This video goes over how to manage minerals well versus how to manage organic soil 
skl.sh/gardeningincanada06231
🎥 2 N D. C H A N N E L
/ @canadianhomestead
👩‍🔬 G R A B A P L A N N E R
Paperback Houseplant Planner:
geni.us/NFTrl2
Paperback Garden Planner:
geni.us/s9zc
Digital Download Planners
www.etsy.com/ca/shop/Gardenin...
📝 S T A Y I N T O U C H
Website/Blog & FREE printables: gardeningincanada.net
Join The Newsletter:
newsletter.gardeningincanada.net
Leave Me A Voice Message To Be Included In The Podcast: memo.fm/gardeningincanada/
➡️ A F F I L I A T E S
Westcoast Seeds Affiliate Link: bit.ly/33mGGaI
Seeds Now: www.seedsnow.com/?rfsn=635440...
Magidome Greenhouse Connectors: magidome.com/?ref=2517cenrgs
Discount code: GardeningInCanada
🍃 K A Y T O N I K - bit.ly/3Gj2Zzl
🎉 S O C I A L S
👩‍🔬PATREON: / gardeningincanada
INSTAGRAM / gardeningincanada
FACEBOOK: / gardenincanada
👩🏻‍🦰 A B O U T M E:
Ashley is a soil scientist who has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are KZbin, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s KZbin channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her KZbin channel as well as her reach to up-and-coming gardeners.
Disclaimer
This description or comments section may contain links to affiliate websites. I receive a commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such a link. This includes the gardening in Canada website. You should assume all links both on the gardening in Canada KZbin, Blog, and all other social media are affiliates and I will receive compensation.

[@GardeningInCanada]

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/gardeningincanada06231 Are you gardening in mineral soil or organics oil?

[@teac117]

Rockwool and coir never get any love. *sniff* 😢

[@teac117]

You really need to write a paper and use the term 'influencer soil' in it.

[@GardeningInCanada]

HAHAHAHA

[@angelicadial7513]

😂

[@oreopaksun2512]

You can tell the serious gardener on a garden tour; the one not looking at fruit or blooms, she look over her shoulders, then scootches down and looks under the mulch to peek at and feel the soil!

[@timcoolican459]

Last year I tilled up a section of our back lawn. The soil was actually quite good. The garden was not as productive as it could have been, because the soil was quite 'heavy', but we did get potatoes, peas, beans, some carrots, chives, and zucchini. I raked all of the leaves over it last year, tilling it in this spring. We also extended our garden, taking another 8 foot wide section of lawn, to our semi-circular space. This time it was much harder packed, with more clay. So, I added a truck-load of composted manure, tilling it in. Then I decided to 'mound' planting furrows to create a deeper tilled area for planting. Everything is up now and I didn't lose any plants in the monsoon we had yesterday (June 3, 2023). Regardless of all these additions, my soil still does not look as good as I think it should...but the results speak for themselves. Owning a tiller, I have the luxury of tilling every year, but if I didn't, I'd be out there with a pitch fork all day. Thank you for sharing this Ashley...and all of the information you've shared with us over the years.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I would just keep adding organics it will get there eventually

[@kele1264]

LOVE the t-shirt!!! And the dog soil tiller. 🙂

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yes! Thank you!

[@amandar7719]

Mr Mole broadforks my mulched soil soil for me. Every. Single. Year. He does a fair job tilling it, too. 😁

[@DavidMFChapman]

I’ve gardened im the same place for decades, and I just keep adding homemade compost to the beds as I sow or transplant and mulch with shredded leaves or chop’n’drop. The original soil had a lot of clay. In the beginning I used to dig in peat and store-bought compost, but I’ve stopped doing that. I also get a few bags of composted horse manure every spring. I have no idea what to call my soil LOL.

[@brianseybert2189]

One of my 1st mistakes when I first started gardening in raised beds was not adding enough native soil, cost me a bunch. Posted a video a couple weeks ago showing how I filled my 2 new raised beds this spring for zero dollars. As always, enjoy your videos! Stay Well!!!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh yes! Soil is sooooo expensive

[@dustyflats3832]

@@GardeningInCanadaif it is even soil and the garbage that is in it. My SIL had a brand name compost delivered in bulk and I couldn’t believe the garbage in it. The co came to shovel it up and take it back. They told her that everything is getting polluted and that’s what I told her. A lot of plastic and glass and I said, that’s our soil from previous inhabitants of this place.🙄. I also found glass in a brand name bag. I tried a delivery of what was to be topsoil and got rocks, garbage and clay. I cleaned it and added a lot of crushed leaves and it’s quite nice and grew great brassicas. We have poor sandy peaty soil. I created long wide rows in ground and loaded the trench with everything I could find in leaf litter, ect. And piled the sand from trench and pathways on top. Filled paths with bark. It will take another year to break down as we are in drought and things are growing ok. I outlined the rows with any found wood and logs I had. The raised beds dry out too fast metal and wood-high or low and too expensive to create and irrigate for us anyways.

[@thebandplayedon..6145]

lol feeling that closing shot all bundled up tho... woke up this morning damn near froze, mumbled some swears whilst searching for my toque & scarf!! In Juuuuune!!!..... damn near wept like a baby, then lit the woodstove to heat the house. In Juuuune!!!..... and I'm still cold af. You guessed it... In effing Juuuune!!! A couple days ago it was so hot I gave myself heat stroke working outside all day and was down and out for almost two full days recovering. Now this. And a solid week of cloud and rain ahead. 👌 👍🙄🙄🙄 Sigh... gardening is hard. Haha love it though a great challenge at every level.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Hahah exactly

[@dustyflats3832]

Same here in Wisconsin, US. It rained in January! It was March weather in April and what really ticked me off is there was no local weather warning of frost just before Memorial Day and it killed a lot of plants that broke bud early because it’s been so damn hot here. That frost was well past our last frost date. And now severe drought. We got maybe a half inch this weekend after over a month.

[@thebandplayedon..6145]

@@dustyflats3832 that sucks, late frost was here too, the strawberries & apples were in full blossoms so we'll see how that pans out... meanwhile, it's STILL cold af! We had single digits nighttime lows and down to 11c tonight too, now the SECOND round of 9-11days of STRAIGHT overcast with showers & thunder ⛈ forecast every damn day with no end in sight... which is probably for the best because the minute the Sun does pop out it's a thousand frigging degrees 🔥🔥 and 100%humidity. Oh man this has been a rough one so far. Good luck 👍

[@mariem5990]

You have the Cutest rototiller ! I love dirt. Thank you for the great video Ashley.

[@jennyreese4913]

Oh my gosh I'm so excited for your mulch video!!

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yay!

[@matthawkins4579]

I have raised beds in my backyard and every 3 years or so I have to dig them out due to tree and other surrounding plant roots invading the beds. I also have soil that is high in rock and silt. Not sure what to do other than order a few cubic yards of compost and maybe put in some root barriers.

[@drawyrral]

I rain down a ton of organic matter on my soil. Leaves and twigs and compost and rabbit poop. The large number of birds contribute a lot of guano too. Nature's way.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Yes exactly

[@PlantObsessed]

Just found your channel looking for Grazon remediation. Great stuff You have given me much to think about. Looks like i have some binging to do.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@janellem6436]

Always love your videos. Been watching for nearly a year now and I've seen so much improvement in such a short period of time. I liked this video that it wasn't too "scientific" I know youre so knowledgeable when it comes to science but sometimes it's harder to follow for the average person. I love how you use science to back it up though so definitely keep at that! There's not too many Canadian gardening channels I think you could really make it big here! Wishing you the best success.😊😊 - Gardening in Toronto area, Ontario💗

[@GardeningInCanada]

Glad you are enjoying and seeing improvements

[@GRPermie]

Soil is something that can get expensive fast if you are not careful! Thanks for the video.

[@GardeningInCanada]

Oh my goodness yes

[@ilovemichigan-1111]

My dogs helped me this year too 😅🤣

[@rulerofthelight]

Tillage is like an F5 tornado- great if you want the town and all it's life chopped to bits. Broad forking is like a heavy wind. Sure, the houses are gonna bend but not be destroyed.

[@nasri-mahasneh]

thank you❤

[@unionse7en]

It would be helpful to show what happens to the soil in your hands when it is wet, in varying degrees. Clay changes character dramatically when wet. Could also show an example of how fast soils drain... create a divet...add water, show drain rate.

[@GardeningInCanada]

I’ve done several videos showing that in the past actually

[@dustyflats3832]

They say to have a soil test done. I have the kit, but it’s difficult to tell the color and not as accurate. Im too cheap to pay for a test, but the other problem is that all areas are amended differently because I’ve tried raised beds and created my own in ground beds with native soil and compostable materials. I wouldn’t get an accurate reading unless I had several separate tests of samples and mixing from different beds would not be accurate. I just wing it and keep adding natural stuff-free is best and it does well.

[@lesfibresfantastiques7265]

Waiting eagerly for the mulch video

[@PraxisPrepper]

Great info. Thx!

[@carolstuff]

Great info & love your dog relaxing in the soil. Thanks for sharing Ashley!

[@elliebee2012]

I live in a newer neighborhood, and the soil is approximately 3 to 4 inches deep and it is very very compacted and under that is clay fill. We’ve lived here for 14 years now, and have done a lot to improve the soil in our yard. We have also really improved the planting holes for trees and I know that that’s not always recommended. However, our trees compared to the trees that are in the park near our home are easily twice as big. I don’t think the trees in the park have put on more than a couple of inches growth each year and they are a basswood tree. I noticed the city put in 4 more trees in that park on Friday. What is your opinion about improving the holes before tree planting?

[@dustyflats3832]

I’m not Ashley, but I always improve the soil a bit and loosen sides before tree planting. They say the roots won’t venture out if improved. Also clay sides of hole need to be loosened a bit. I have sand with no water or nutrient holding capability. What I was thinking is the basswood may not like the location. We dug a basswood from friends forest and it hates it here. The deer have clipped it as I need a taller fence, but it really hasn’t been robust in any growth. Too hot and dry.

[@LesleyVictoria]

All of this was affirming! You are fantastic!!! My soil still aggregates after breaking it all up, but I plan on watering and then mulching. Wanting for your mulch video!!! I'm using black mulch from walmart, looked good to me, mainly wood-ish looking shard and was cheap!! Sending you lots of love from Alberta!

[@janw491]

Walmart right now has lovely garden soil 6 bags for $10

[@damedesmontagnes]

I have been learning about regenerative agriculture, soil food web, Dr. Elaine Ingham...

[@seth7131]

I got injured at work so now I'm gardening, I've watched so many of your videos, I've learned lots. I myself have 2 plots, each 8'x8'. In the Calgary area, we have quite the clay soil, holds on to too much water and gets quite compacted very easily. 18 inches down is clay. I have added some peat (3.8 cubic feet to each) and some perlite, we regularly add compost, but is not much in the grand scheme of things. Just added some lime now that the peat is there and I have Sulphur. Coming from my winter in hydroponics, I've learned how important PH is and the soil is off the charts towards alkaline, 8 (max) on the meter, and quite blue in the PH water, at least alkaline. From what Ive heard, clay soils are often more acidic so lime would be great then, but we are already alkaline. I'm sure your answer will be more organic material, but any specific recommendations for a clay soil that's basic? I'm not sure whether its worth trucking in a yard of compost, soil or manure, or if thats even necessary. Our garden is already planted but the watering has made it behave like it was before I added the peat and perlite, albeit a small bit fluffier but still very much a clay soil. Come fall we will add a big brick of perlite but I cant seem to find whether I should be adding manure, compost, peat... the goal is to amend it really well in the fall. So far I'm expecting about a 100-200$ expense depending on how much compost or manure costs. TLDR: How to fix clay alkaline soil. Thanks!

[@mitchellbrown9713]

I don’t know if you are able, but can you acquire/collect horse poop from a horse ranch? Ruminants have a four chambered stomach. If you can get some horse manure and age it for a month or so, the single celled organisms in the poop will go to work on your soil and make it better. If not, buy some bait worms and throw them in the soil. The single celled organisms that live in the worms digestive system are an alternative. The horse/cow/goat poop is best, but worm poop is better than doing nothing.

[@krisyallowega5487]

I suppose that I use both "soil types" in my landscape.

[@dreamlovermimi9458]

I normally have Heavy dark gray Clay soil. ( inner City) and i have amended it with Pest moss and sand , top soil bags and garden soil ( very cheap here) and it much more workable . Compost tea watering helps loosen it . Lactic acid bacteria helps too

[@VermiCast_Garden]

Great video. Having 24'' high raised beds and having to use a Soilless mixture has been quite the journey for me. I wouldn't recommend it. Adding mineral soil at some level (no matter the quality) would have saved me a lot of time and money.

[@VGV0]

I bought one bulk bag of "premium garden soil" from Walmart. Those huge huge bulk Bags. It is not a good soil, very loose and sandyish.

[@kendravoracek3636]

💚💚

[@jimmyjo1375]

Do plants actually grow better in smaller pots?

[@GardeningInCanada]

Some do. Peppers for example

[@mirkopg69]

For now I'm good to build a mobile 4×4 ft green house, then I will deal with the rest. I mean I lost the first 2 months. 😅😊

[@Batchat2352]

What if my mineral soil is... mostly clay. I had put compost i got from my municipality. I had tomatoes and eggplants growing for 4 weeks on that soil we broke it loose and berely any new growth at all and they were sick looking. Ussualy we buy “black earth” aka black peat moss disguised as earth it worked okay for the year but we didnt buy bags this year and well nothing doing well other than beans and radishes. Removed a lot of the clay glue like soil so i have approximatively 50% clay and 50 compost. I need to do it again today. Another 12x5ft

[@GardeningInCanada]

Is it possible the compost was not cured? Or had something like grazon?

[@teriperkins4427]

I believe I have an herbicide in the soil that only affects my tomatoes and potatoes- is there anything to do for this?

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Stick with regular mineral soil (work with mother nature) I disagree. Mother nature has mineral soil with an organic matter top. That is the idea behind "no dig". Don't turn the soil over. Just put 1-2" of compost on top each year. A broad fork can still be used to loosen the mineral soil beneath.

[@mountainvalleysunshine7228]

A fall crop of daikon radish is the extra lazy way to not till, till 😅

[@GardeningInCanada]

Accurate

[@Hxnd]

Is green and white mold in my pepper soil safe? I started a compost experiment a few months ago and it's a little spooky. lol

[@francismeowgannou5322]

White is probably mycelium and green is probably trichoderma. Both mean you're compost pile is alive and well.

[@GardeningInCanada]

The white is normal. Green is a bit odd, is it fluffy green? Or a slime

[@Hxnd]

@@GardeningInCanada like slim-ish. I read it could be because it was too moist?

[@Hxnd]

Now I'm thinking the green might have been algae.

[@JogBird]

whats wrong w tilling?

[@dustyflats3832]

I don’t know. It seems a trend thing. Afraid you’ll break up fungus connections, ect. I still till new ground and if needed either fluff old beds or light rototill. There is a tiller and plow that goes deep and then there is a rotor tiller that is shallow. I believe in getting some air in that soil if it’s compacted. I will agree I have seen over tilled soil, especially sandy loam and it’s powder.

[@carolyn9547]

Great video chick! Thanks!