GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Understanding the texture of your garden soil is crucial for successful planting and gardening. Soil texture affects water retention, drainage, aeration, and nutrient ...

Have you ever watered your garden and noticed the water takes a long time to drain or percolate through the soil? You might want to investigate your soil texture. Anthony Simerlink is a University of ...

A soil test should be performed before adding amendments willy-nilly. For example, Epsom salt for roses must be added with care.

Garden centers love to whisper sweet promises about miracle mixes and premium powders, but your vegetable patch doesn’t always fall for the hype. Some vegetables actually perform better when you stop ...

Soils come in many different colors, described by hue, value, and chroma (Munsell color system). Using the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) online Web Soil Survey (WSS) to discover the ...

It’s a simple equation: If you want to grow better plants, you first need to understand the soil. “The texture of a soil is its proportion of sand, silt and clay,” said James Cassidy, a soils ...

Water evaporates from plant leaves through minuscule holes called stomata. At a global scale, this process — called transpiration — is a key component of the terrestrial water cycle. When soil is ...

Salts are compounds formed when positively charged cations such as sodium (Na⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺) and potassium (K⁺) combine with negatively ...

Katherine Gallagher is a writer and sustainability expert. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Chapman University and a Sustainable Tourism certificate from the GSTC. Succulents may be one of ...