Amending Soil

There are some buzz words you need to learn that will make you sound like you've been gardening for a veddy, veddy long time, dahling. Let's
try this one on for size - amending the soil. The ground that is to become home to that fabulous new plant you just had to have is never, ever
referred to as dirt. Nope, that's the stuff you read about on the internet. Going forward, dirt shall answer to the name soil - please add this to
your ever expanding vocabulary. And unless you live near the Holland Marsh outside of Toronto, Ontario, where the soil is black and fertile and
brings me to tears just thinking about it, you will need to add stuff to your soil to make it a good home for your new friends. The adding stuff
part is called amending. So, here we are, amending the soil in the south or any other place the soil needs a helping hand.

THE RULE

Hate to be all "You must do this", but honestly, I've read this one and seen it in action and it doesn't work: DO NOT ADD SAND TO CLAY!
Really, not yelling here, but just trying to get your attention. Sand and clay make something close to a mess. I just finished a landscaping job
where I was asked to fix an incredible mess (can't drop name of the landscaping company that created this disaster, seriously wish I could).
When I started digging in the dirt, I found layers of sand and clay. WTH?!? No wonder everything was dead!

Gentle Suggestion #1

Just add potting soil and some of the clay/whatever you are dealing with into that brand new hole-to-be-a-home. There are lots of suggestions
about using part manure, peat moss, sand, yada, yada, yada. Just buy a bag of cheap potting soil and mix in a little of what you are digging
(makes the roots stronger by making them try harder when they hit some of the bits of clay).

Gentle Suggestion #2

It's so much easier to dig in the clay when it's wet. I once used a pick axe to dig out a very large area along my very long deck when the clay was
very dry. Bonded heavily with some Advil that day. BTW, I don't get any money from any of the brand names I drop.

That's about it, Girlfriends and Dudes. Find some fun, make some memories!