Good soil key for a successful garden

A successful and healthy garden begins by working from the ground up and ensuring that rich and fertile soil is used, it has been suggested.

Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Erle Nickel highlights that soil needs to be filled with beneficial nutrients, alongside having good drainage and exposure to the air.

Meanwhile, there is a need to ensure that the soils pH level is correct, with a visit to a nursery to acquire a soil testing kit stated as a trip worth taking.

Soil scientist Ed Brennan, who teaches soil management and plant nutrition at Merritt College in Oakland, told the publication: "If the soils pH is below 5.8, nutrients such as calcium, nitrogen, potassium and magnesium are not available to the plant.

"Above 6.8, nutrients such as copper, zinc and iron are likewise not available."

Meanwhile, it is also remarked that gardeners still need to use fertiliser, regardless of whether they added nutrients to the soil at the time of planting.

The three primary nutrients used by plants are potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.