Sampling soil can improve garden success

Soil samples are very important and can raise a gardeners probability of achieving horticultural triumph, an expert has suggested.

Roy Sallis, president of the Chilton County Master Gardeners Association, tells the Clanton Advertiser that although the majority of people do not bother with a sample and just "get out and start planting", a soil sample can "bring your probability of success up even further".

When planting on a new patch of earth, Mr Sallis explains that the soil should be prepared to receive the seeds and plants.

As such, he explains that a shovel or tiller can be used to bring up earth from underneath the surface of the ground to make it soft enough for flora to be grown in.

In related news, the Observer recently featured an article which explains that Victorian horticulturalists used to go to great lengths to ensure that their gardens were south-facing by raking the soil to make it slope in the correct direction.