Tips to improve your Florida soil

Gardening in the sunshine state is a fulfilling experience, but Florida soil can be a challenge to work with. North and central Florida soils tend to be sandy and some gardeners may encounter clay soil.

Don’t lose hope! We’ve assembled some tips to cultivate rich, fertile soil in your Florida garden.

Why healthy soil matters

If you want to grow your own food or even enjoy some flowers, it all starts with a little seed in a bit of soil. The soil your plants grow in is essential to their health. Healthy soil will hold water and nutrient content to deliver to your growing sprouts.

Unfortunately, often times the soil already in your backyard is not prepared to encourage plants to thrive. The sandy soil of North Florida aren’t good at holding nutrients or water and often homes are built on fill soil, that is also not designed for growing.

Assessing your soil

The first step to healthy soil is assessing what you have. If you are using the soil in your backyard to get started it’s wise to get it tested at your local extension office. An extension office can test your soil and tell you the Ph, fertility levels of your soil, and the amount of nutrients and fertilizer your soil needs. This is all useful information when planning your garden.

A soil test won’t tell you exactly what kind of plants to grow, but it will help you research what grows best in your current conditions and guide you if you need to make soil amendments to your growing media.

Differences between South Florida soil and North Florida soil

While Florida has great weather for growing, there are some differences with the soil quality from location to location.

South Florida soils tend to contain more organic matter and are more rich and good for growing. North Florida soils tend to be sandy and you are more likely to find clay soil.

No matter where you live, it’s likely your home was built on fill dirt, which is not ideal for growing. This soil is used for construction and is generally very compacted and low on nutrients. The differences are broad, but you can expect to have success growing in Florida with a little bit of preparation.

Once you’ve tested your soil and started to plan your garden, you’ve likely figured out what needs to be improved upon to get the most out of your Florida garden. Below, we’ve listed some of the steps you can take to improve your soil if you find it lacking.

Any soil can be improved with some hard work and preparation and it is a worthwhile venture to take some time and improve yours.

Add organic matter

Organic matter is essential to the health of your plants. Composted yard waste is an easy way to add organic material to your soil. Compost not only provides nutrient to your soil, it also conditions it to carry and drain water more effectively.

It promotes a population of garden worms as well as protecting your plants from some diseases. There are many guides online for starting your own compost heap at home or you can buy quality compost from your garden store.

If you are interested in adding manure to your garden, be sure to only used aged manure as fresh manure will burn your plants.