CORVALLIS – Adding organic matter is the best way to improve nearly all kinds of soils. If you’re unsure if your soil needs amendments, take note if it dries and cracks in summer, drains ...

Adding compost to your garden can help improve drainage, reduce pests and disease, and even increase the water-holding capacity of the soil.

Compost has a long list of benefits for garden soil, but adding too much is detrimental to both plant health and the ...

Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic materials into a valuable soil-like substance called compost. Using compost as a soil amendment will add a small amount of nutrients to the ...

The conventional way that gardeners solve bad-soil trouble is by adding organic matter such as compost, leaves, grass clippings, and/or rotted manure – or bypassing in-ground planting altogether ...

Discover the benefits of using coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer for plants. We spoke with gardening and soil pros about ...

In general, when you increase the amount of organic matter in soil, you increase soil productivity. You can add organic matter to soil by adding compost, chopped up leaves, grass clippings and ...

If your garlic is not putting out big, properly formed bulbs, you'll want to test and adjust the soil to ensure the ...

For new beds, dig in lots of organic matter several inches deep to improve the soil and give new plants a good start, Yiesla says. For established trees, shrubs and garden beds, spread compost or ...

So over the hot days of summer, the life in the soil literally eats up the organic matter in the soil, depleting it. Your October job is then to add organic matter back into the soil.

A soil test is the single best piece of information you can obtain for your garden. Here’s my soil test as an example, and what kind of recommendations are given to improve garden soil.