Feb. 28 column: Soil

The soil in our gardens is one of the most easily overlooked components, yet it’s so very important to the success of our gardens. We tend to take it for granted and just assume all is well with it. That’s not necessarily the case!

On the flip side, sometimes we do a bit too much to our soil, without realizing we’re harming the tiny microorganisms that give life to our soil.

I’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately and decided to highlight its importance in my writing.

Here is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: First step is taking care of soil. In it, I take a close look at the life within our soil and some simple steps we can take to nurture it.

After reading the excellent book, “Teaming with Microbes,” I learned that by changing some of our gardening practices, we will have fertile, healthy gardens.

The great news is that these changes will require less work in your garden and less expense. Interested? Have a read and let me know if you intend to give it a try this year!

I should also mention that a colleague of mine has been following the practices I outline in my column for 3 years now. “What a difference it’s made,” she told me. “Healthiest, most productive garden I’ve ever had!”