When putting in a garden or adding a landscaping feature to your home, you may want to bring in a certain type of soil, or treat the soil on your property. This will ensure that it is rich enough to support anything you plant, and strong enough to hold those plants in place. You also need to avoid soil erosion or having too much moisture collect along certain features on your property, and the right soil can be part of this process:

1. Potting soil versus gardening soil

First note that potting soil is not the same as gardening soil; potting soil is very lightweight and actually breaks down over the years, and heavier plants can fall over in potting soil so that their roots don't hold firmly. Even if you need a small amount of soil for a smaller garden, you don't want to assume that potting soil will be the right choice. Always choose gardening soil for outdoor projects.

2. Added matter

Most bagged soils or those you have delivered to your yard will have matter added to them, to provide them with nutrients and to make them firmer so that the soil doesn't run off with each watering. You need to know the matters added; look for compost and organic materials such as fertilizer or stable sweepings, along with bagasse, which is a type of ground-up sugar, and rice hulls.

Avoid soils that have any type of ash added, as this is not organic and simply keeps soil more compact without adding to its overall nutrient base. It is also often added to make the soil look darker, but it's typically considered a low-quality ingredient.

3. Sandy soils

If the soil on your property is very sandy, it won't hold water. Peat is a good additive for sandy soils; look for sphagnum peat, which will help the sandy soil to retain water and which will improve its overall acidity, something needed for most gardens and landscaping features.

4. Manure and compost

Adding manure can mean too much ammonia in the soil, which can be dangerous to plants. It's good to add manure several months before planting so that it can work its way through the soil before the garden starts to grow. Compost can also release organic matter into a soil to make it richer and ready for plants, but it too should only contain organic ingredients and be added before planting, so that it can mix in with the soil well before your plants take root.

To learn more, contact a company like Wholesale Sleeper Co.