As any avid gardener knows, having the right soil in your garden is one of the most important steps in achieving healthy plant growth. Unfortunately, homeowners with heavy clay soil in their yards ...

CORVALLIS – When you walk about your yard on a wet day, do your shoes stick in the mud? Could you make ceramic pots out of the soil in your garden? If the answers are yes to both, odds are you have ...

Testing your soil can help you determine the level of organic matter to know what improvements need made for the future. (Submitted photo) Soils that contain a large amount of clay character have ...

Clay soil is found in many American gardens, but it isn't a hospitable home for all plants. If you're preparing your garden for summer, or want to grow flowers or vegetables, you might struggle. There ...

Every winter, gardeners brace themselves for frost, snow, and the eerie silence of hibernating plants. But while you’re ...

Sandy loam? Loamy soil? There are many terms to describe the ground under your feet. Here's how to determine the composition of your soil -- and why it matters.

If you have clay soil in your garden, you know how challenging it can be to work with. Clay-based soils retain moisture well, meaning they can be slow draining and compact easily. When clay soils ...

When it comes to improving clay soil, sand is not the answer. “What do contractors make when they mix clay and sand? Concrete,” said Sacramento soil expert Steven Zien of Living Resources Co. “Adding ...

You know you have clay soil if it sticks like glue to your shoes and garden tools when wet and forms rock-hard clods when dry. You are not alone; the soil in many areas of Marin is high in clay ...

You have counseled in numerous articles the value of treating our clay soils with organic mulch. Could you suggest a source for good quality organic compost? I have been warned that the local ...

Q: I want to grow carrots, but my soil is dense clay. All the sources I read say carrots prefer a sandy loam. How much sand should I add to get it to be the right texture? A: This is a question we get ...