Gardeners are being urged to check their soil in February (Image: Getty)
Gardeners are being urged to check their soil in February to avoid running into problems growing things this coming summer.
While up and down the country are keeping an eye on the and starting to prepare their green spaces for the imminent spring, there are some annual gardening tasks which need to be completed now, in February, in order to get ready for the year ahead.
One such task is checking your soil. Over the winter, soil gets battered with rain, wind, frost, snow, ice and pests digging in it, walking over it and, of course, plants from last year have leached out vital nutrients.
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Checking your soil now to make sure its balance and structure are in the sweet spot can make it much easier to get things growing when the weather warms up.
Writing in his book Allotment Month By Month, garden expert Alan Buckingham advises: “Give your soil a health check. As long as the ground is not frozen, February is a good time to take a look at your soil and see if it needs any attention before the year begins. What sort of soil do you have? Is it heavy or light? What about its chemistry? Is it acid, alkaline or neutral?
“Whatever the answer, there’s plenty you can do to make sure it is as fertile and well structured as possible.
“All soils are acid, alkaline or, as is much more common, neutral. It is not normally an issue as most fruit and vegetables are fairly tolerant. If anything, they tend to prefer slightly acidic conditions.
“Only in extreme cases does it become a problem – when soils are either very acid or very alkaline, in which case you may be attempting to grow plants in inappropriate conditions.”
If you find your soil is too acidic, you can add lime or a lime-rich material such as a mushroom compost. Alkaline soil is by contrast, high in calcium. They are trickier to balance but you can try adding composted sawdust, pine bark or pine needle leaf mould,
It’s not just acid versus alkaline though, but the structure of your soil which matters. Some soils are very sandy, while others are more clay-like.
Heavy clay soil sticks together like pastry and can be formed into a ball. Sandy soil is gritty and more easily slips between your fingers.
To improve clay soil, spread organic matter and grit into it and avoid treading on it directly. To improve sandy soil, fork in well rotted manure or compost regularly.