Healthy Trees, Plants & Grass 

Soil Aeration

Soil aeration is crucial for the health and vitality of plants, including your lawn, as it addresses a common problem: soil compaction. Soil compaction reduces pore space, limiting oxygen flow to roots and trapping carbon dioxide, which can stunt growth.

Sunlight

Living in the Valley of the Sun can make us spoiled by the sunlight we get. While some plants thrive in full sun, others need partial shade or full shade to survive and flourish. It’s important to plant in the right area for sunlight.

Soil

Soil is categorized based on the size of the mineral particles it contains sand, silt, and clay. These particle sizes influence the soil's texture, structure, drainage, water retention, and nutrient availability, which are all important factors for plant growth.

Here are the main types of soil for planting:

I. Sandy soil

Characteristics: Consists primarily of large mineral particles, feeling gritty to the touch. Drains quickly and doesn't hold water or nutrients well.

Challenges: Low water and nutrient retention mean frequent watering and fertilizing are necessary.

Suitable Plants: Good for plants that prefer well-drained conditions, such as root vegetables, cactus, succulents, strawberries, and certain herbs.

II. Clay soil

Characteristics: Composed of very fine particles, giving it a sticky, lumpy feel when wet and making it hard when dry. Retains a lot of moisture and nutrients but drains slowly.

Challenges: Poor drainage can lead to root rot and slow warming in spring. Can be difficult to work with due to its dense nature.

Suitable Plants: Beneficial for water-loving plants and those that thrive in nutrient-rich conditions, like fruit trees, some vegetables, and ornamental shrubs.

III. Silt soil

Characteristics: Particles are smaller than sand but larger than clay, giving it a smooth, soapy, or powdery texture.

Advantages: Offers a good balance of water retention and drainage, retains nutrients well, and is easy to cultivate.

Challenges: Can compact easily if not managed properly.

Suitable Plants: Excellent for a wide range of plants, including most vegetables and fruits, as long as good drainage is maintained.

IV. Loam soil

Characteristics: Considered the ideal soil for most plants, it's a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay (ideally around 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay).

Advantages: Excellent water retention and drainage, good aeration, rich in nutrients, and easy to work with.

Challenges: Requires regular replenishment of organic matter to maintain its vitality.

Suitable Plants: Ideal for most vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and trees.

V. Peat soil

Characteristics: Rich in organic matter, often dark brown or black, acidic, and retains a lot of water.

Challenges: Can be waterlogged and naturally acidic, which may limit the types of plants that thrive.

Suitable Plants: Preferred by plants that tolerate acidic conditions like rhododendrons, heather, and some legumes. 

VI. Chalky soil

Characteristics: Contains high levels of calcium carbonate, making it alkaline. Can be stony and drains quickly.

Challenges: Poor water retention and can hinder nutrient absorption for some plants.

Suitable Plants: Some plants tolerant of alkaline conditions, such as lilacs, weigela, spinach, and sweet corn.

* Identifying your soil type.

You can get a general idea of your soil type with these simple tests: 

⦁ Feel Test: Take a handful of moist soil and rub it between your fingers. Sandy soil feels gritty, clay soil feels sticky and lumpy, and silt soil feels smooth and soft.

⦁ Ball Test: Squeeze a moist soil sample into a ball. If it holds its shape but crumbles when poked, it's likely loam. If it remains intact, it's probably clay. If it falls apart, it's sandy.

⦁ Jar Test: A more precise method involves placing a soil sample in a jar with water and letting it settle to observe the layers of sand, silt, and clay.

⦁ Some nurseries offer Soil Analysis and testing. Also making soil blend for your needs from the analysis and testing.

Watering

There are various methods to water trees, plants, and grass, but proper watering leads to more efficient water use and improves resistance to heat and disease. Better placement of roots.

The "Sprinkler Detective" method focuses on maintaining a consistent watering duration once the ideal amount has been determined. This means you adjust the frequency of watering based on factors like how much water is being absorbed by the plants and how much is evaporating due to the season. For example, during hotter, drier periods, you would water more frequently, while in cooler or rainy seasons, you would decrease the frequency.

Cup/Bucket Technique

Place small cups through the grass area. Run the grass zone for 10 minutes, measure the amount of water collected in each cup and average them out. Target ¾” of water for each time yard is watered. If you measure ¼” in 10 minutes of running the zone, will need to set timer for 30 minutes to get ¾” of watering.

For Plants and Trees place the emitter (end of dripline) in 5 gallon bucket and run for hour to get rate per hour. Set timer to get the following amounts:

Plants 1-3 gallons

Trees 60-200 gallons

*Most emitters are color coded; Black/ Blue – 1gph, Red – 2gph and Yellow – 3 gph

Planting Location

Food