You can add humus to your soil any time you wish. Large quantities of humus help cure heavy clay soils and fast draining sand. It also adds micro-organisms and minerals to build up weak soils. Just remember that it doesn’t last forever, so plan on adding humus every year or so.
You can add humus in various ways:- Work it into the soil in the bottom of your planting hole and mix with the existing soil as you pack it around the root ball.
- Improve the soil over an entire planting area by spading or rototilling it in 6" to 24" deep.
- Cultivate it into the surface of the soil around older plants that can use a boost.
What’s going on down under?
- To find out what’s going on in your soil, dig a test hole 2' deep and look at the sidewall to tell if there is a lighter colored layer under the topsoil. You may want to dig deep holes and add lots of humus when you plant to improve your soil.
- To evaluate drainage conditions, fill the hole with water. If it drains away in an hour you have great drainage. If it takes a day you have slow drainage. If it sits overnight or longer, you have poor drainage. If you have poor drainage, add more humus and try the drainage test again.
The pH scale indicates acidity or alkalinity. A soil with a pH number below 7 is acid, while one with a pH above 7 is alkaline. Garden plants typically grow best in neutral or slightly acid soil and you need not be concerned with pH unless your soil is one extreme or the other. Many good garden centers will gladly test a soil sample for pH levels for you, or you can buy an inexpensive pH test.
