Topsoil Tampa

Types of Soil

About ninety percent of most soil is made up of rocks of different sizes.  The other ten percent of most soil is organic matter.  The size of the rocks making up the soil determines whether you have clay, sand, or silt.

Clay is the smallest type of rock in soil.  These particles cling to one another and do not easily let air or water separate them.  On the good side, clay retains moisture the longest of any of the soil types.  On the bad side, plants can become waterlogged due to poor drainage.  In the summer, clay can bake into cement, killing the plants growing in it.

Sand is at the other end of the soil spectrum.  The particles are relative large and do not cling to on another tightly.  This soil drains well and is well aerated.  However, it can drain so well that plants quickly dry out and must be watered frequently.  Sand also has a low nutrient level so plants must be fertilized often, as well.

Silt is composed of particles between sand and clay.  It drains well but contains lots of organic matter and is very fertile.  Rivers deposit silt when they flood, which is why river bottoms are generally very fertile.

Our topsoil is composed of silty sand and a minimum of ten percent organic matter.  This rich topsoil will grow just about anything you want to grow.  If you need topsoil for your lawn or garden, call us at (813) 358-8990 today and we can deliver it tomorrow.

The Benefits of Mulch in a Garden

A well mulched flower bed or garden bed looks sharp.  Mulch does more than look good, however.  It cools the soil in the heat, warms it in the cool, retains moisture in the soil, acts as a weed barrier, and retards disease.

A three inch layer of mulch is ideal.  It acts as a blanket to warm the soil when conditions are cool and to cool the soil when conditions are hot.  This can give you an extra week or two of gardening season in the winter as well as before it gets so hot plants go dormant.  In addition, the blanket of mulch holds moisture in the soil, retarding evaporation.  This means when you water your garden, the water goes to your plants instead of evaporating into the air.  This is especially true if you have drip irrigation with the pipes under the mulch.

In addition to helping regulate temperature and soil moisture, mulch helps keep weeds out of the garden.  As weed seeds germinate, they only have a finite amount of energy to grow above ground and reach the sun before they starve and die.   The extra three inches of space between the soil and the sun starves most weed seeds before they every grow out of the mulch.  This keeps your yard nice and weed free.

Finally, mulch retards disease.  Soil has fungal spores in it that splash on the leaves of your plants when you water them.  Mulch acts as a barrier between these spores and your plants, keeping them from landing on your plants and causing fungal diseases.  Further, if you grow tomatoes, melons, or other vegetables that rest on the ground as they develop, mulch can keep them cleaner and help protect them from fungal diseases as well.

Help your plants and spread a layer of three inches of mulch around them to control soil temperature, retain soil moisture, and retard disease.  Order your mulch today by calling (813) 358-8990.  We deliver mulch in quantities of 3-18 cubic yards with 24 hours notice, so you can be spreading mulch tomorrow if you call today.

Water Wise Gardening

Having just come through one of the worst droughts in recorded history, more and more people are interested in gardening in ways that conserve water.  Referred to variously as xeriscaping, water wise gardening, or native plant gardening, the goal is to garden in a way that uses very little supplemental water. Three things are important in this type of gardening:  compost, mulch, and plant selection.

Many people think of cactus surrounded by rocks when they think of water wise gardening.  However, that is an inaccurate portrayal of this type of gardening.  Simply put, you choose plants that are adapted to the amount of rainfall you normally get in your area, amend your soil generously with compost, and mulch to hold in moisture when you get rain.

When choosing plants, you pick ones that are adapted to that much rainfall.  That means you don’t plant rainforest plants in the desert, but you also don’t plant desert plants in the rainforest.  Look at your native wildflowers, trees, and shrubs and choose from among them for the majority of your landscape.

Before planting, it is important to amend your soil with plenty of compost to add rich organic matter to it.  This aerates the soil and also makes it both drain well and hold on to water until the plants need it.  The bits of organic matter act as sponges, absorbing the water and then gradually releasing it back into the soil as the soil dries out.  From there, your plants can absorb it for their needs.  Experts recommend three inches of compost be tilled into a depth of about six inches for each new bed or at the start of each new season for gardens and annual beds.

Mulch is another feature of water wise gardens.  Mulch acts as a blanket for your garden, warming soil in the cold and cooling it in the heat.  It also acts as a lid, holding moisture in the soil where plants can access it.  Less water evaporates and more reaches your plants.  Finally, it acts to keep soil and fungal spores from splashing onto your plants and vegetables when it rains or you water.  This helps prevent disease.

Water wise gardens can be beautiful.  Just remember the trio of elements that are essential to them:  plants adapted to the rainfall in your area, compost, and mulch.  You provide the plants, we provide the compost and mulch.  Call (813) 358-8990 to order your mulch and compost today and start saving on your water bills.