Anyone who wants to breathe new life into their garden can benefit a lot from quality topsoil.
High quality topsoil is the main catalyst for a healthy and beautiful garden.
Unfortunately, most homeowners and gardeners do not know what topsoil is or the benefits that they can get from it.
Technically, topsoil can be defined as the first four inches of soil anywhere.
However, in horticulture, topsoil refers to nutrient-rich soil that is sourced from areas where lots of plant life and water exists.
Why is topsoil so important? In nature, various components and elements combine to create food for the soil.
The leaves that fall from the trees as well as plant debris and animal waste will combine to form nutrient-rich compost for the soil.
Rainwater will nourish the soil and make it perfect for plant life.
Anything that is planted on such topsoil will flourish.
There is a very big difference between topsoil and subsoil.
Subsoil can sometimes look similar to topsoil, but the nutrient value is usually very different.
After buying topsoil, it is important to read the test results or to request for a topsoil analysis.
A gardener or landscaper can also be able to tell the difference by looking at the appearance of the soil.
Topsoil is always much darker than subsoil because of all the decomposed material that can be found in it.
Sometimes, topsoil has unrefined green matter that indicate that it is rich in nutrients.
Another factor that distinguishes topsoil from any other type of soil is the moisture content of the soil.
High quality topsoil is usually rich in moisture, while subsoil or any other type of soil is usually dry.
A topsoil analysis or test report should indicate the pH value of the soil.
High quality topsoil should have a pH value that is close to 7.
This means that the topsoil is neutral, that is, not too basic or too acidic.
The topsoil analysis should also indicate the amount of potassium that is available in the soil.
Different samples have different amounts of potassium, and they will all vary in nutrient quantity and quality.
When purchasing topsoil, it is important to know its granular content.
This refers to the combination of dust, rocks, fossils and plants debris in the soil.
The granular content of the soil is usually indicated in the analysis report that one gets after purchasing topsoil.
Good quality topsoil should not have too many rocks, as this could affect the growth of plants.
It should however have enough foliage and nutrients.