A healthy and productive garden starts long before you purchase your first seeds, harvest your first tomatoes, or see your first pollinators. It starts with soil, the foundation for all living things that we, as gardeners, love to grow, but how do you get good soil? Are you supposed to buy soil for your garden? Is your native soil safe to grow in? Is your soil sandy or loamy? 

These are all common questions that can quench the initial flame to start a garden, but fret not because today, we will talk about every type of native soil, soil used for containers, and popular amendments. 

Understanding Soil Types

Let's start by exploring the four most common soil types, each with its own unique properties and challenges. 

• Loamy Soil is the ideal soil for most vegetables and fruit trees, featuring a balanced mix of clay, silt, and sand. It drains well without drying out too quickly and is naturally nutrient-rich. Loam warms quickly in spring, is easy to work with, and is great for seed starting, potting, and transplanting. It can still be improved by some of the amendments we’ll cover later, but it is otherwise the perfect starting point.
• Sandy Soil, often found in coastal and arid regions, has a gritty texture and drains quickly. While this prevents waterlogging, it also means nutrients wash away easily, making it difficult for plants to thrive without amendments. Despite these challenges, sandy soil is easy to cultivate and warms up quickly in spring, giving plants an early start in the growing season.
• Silty Soil is rich in nutrients and retains moisture well, making it one of the more fertile native soil types. Found in floodplains and areas shaped by glaciers, it has a smooth, soft texture similar to loam. However, its fine particles make it prone to compaction, which can limit root growth and reduce drainage efficiency.
• Clay soil is the most difficult to work with due to its dense composition. When wet, it becomes sticky and heavy, while in dry conditions, it hardens like concrete. This makes drainage a challenge, leading to water pooling and slow root growth. It also warms up later in spring, delaying planting times. However, clay is naturally rich in minerals and nutrients, making it a solid foundation if properly amended. 
  

There are a few more subtypes, but the odds are good that your future in-ground garden contains one of these four soil types, so what can be used to improve it? 

Best Amendments for Healthy Soil 

The right amendments can transform your soil, improving its structure, drainage, and nutrient content. Here are some of the best options to boost soil health and plant growth.

Organic Compost or Aged Manure

Compost is decomposed plant and food waste that enriches the soil by adding organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. It improves soil fertility by introducing essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium while also enhancing soil structure. Compost helps sandy soil retain moisture, prevents silty soil from compacting, and makes clay soil more aerated and workable. Additionally, it boosts microbial life, which supports plant health and nutrient cycling. If you can’t find traditional organic compost, aged manure is also a great option, but avoid adding fresh manure as it can pull nutrients out of the soil as it finishes breaking down. 

Sand or Perlite 

Both sand and perlite improve drainage and aeration, but they serve different functions: 

• Sand: Works well for loosening heavy clay soils, improving water movement and reducing compaction. However, adding too much sand to clay can create a cement-like texture, so it must be mixed with organic matter as well.
• Perlite: A lightweight volcanic mineral that helps sandy soils retain moisture while increasing aeration in clay soils. It’s often used in potting mixes and raised bed gardens but can also be incorporated into native soils for better structure. 

Mulching

Mulching involves covering the soil surface with organic materials like wood chips, straw, or leaves. It helps regulate soil temperature, retain moisture, and prevent erosion. In sandy soils, mulch reduces water evaporation, while in clay soils, it prevents the surface from hardening. Over time, organic mulches decompose, adding organic matter to the soil and feeding beneficial microbes. As far as depth goes, 2-4 inches is usually the gold standard.

Mulch is also a very popular material for filling up raised beds affordably, but it is best used either at the very bottom of tall beds, or at the top as mulch. Mixing it in can lead to nitrogen deficiencies, and decrease the yields of what you are growing in the first year.

Biochar

Biochar is a carbon-rich material made by burning organic matter in a low-oxygen environment, that more or less looks like charcoal. It significantly improves soil structure, water retention, and microbial life. In sandy soils, biochar helps retain water and nutrients, preventing them from washing away. In clay soils, it reduces compaction by creating microscopic air pockets that improve drainage. While it is often touted as a miracle soil amendment it is not as effective in each soil type, as compared to compost. It is most effective in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in highly weathered, nutrient-poor soils, and in acidic soils. That said, pairing it with compost will generally increase the efficacy of said compost.

Cover Crops

Cover crops like clover, alfalfa, and rye are planted to improve soil health during the off-season. They help prevent erosion, increase organic matter, and enhance soil aeration as their roots break up compacted layers. Some cover crops, like legumes, also fix nitrogen, naturally enriching the soil without synthetic fertilizers. Once tilled or cut back, they decompose and contribute organic nutrients, improving soil texture and fertility. The benefit of growing legumes like fava beans or peas is that you will also be able to obtain a yield while also fixing your soil, a unique offering compared to all other options.

Fixing Your Soil: What to Add & Why

Now that we’ve covered soil types and amendments, let’s put it all together. Here’s how to improve each soil type to create the best-growing conditions for your garden.

• Loamy Soil - While loam is already an excellent foundation, it can still benefit from amendments. Adding organic compost enhances microbial activity, boosts fertility, and provides slow-release nutrients. Mulching helps retain moisture and prevent weed growth. For long-term soil health, incorporating biochar can improve loam’s ability to hold nutrients and support beneficial microbes, making it even more resilient and productive.
• Sandy Soil - To transform sandy soil into a more productive growing medium, organic matter is essential. Adding compost increases its ability to retain moisture and nutrients. Mulching helps reduce evaporation and regulate soil temperature. Biochar is especially useful in sandy soil because it acts like a sponge, retaining both water and nutrients while fostering beneficial microbes. Additionally, covering crops can help build long-term fertility.
• Silty Soil - To improve silty soil, adding organic compost increases aeration and microbial activity, preventing compaction. Mixing in sand or perlite can improve drainage, while mulching helps regulate moisture levels and prevent erosion. Biochar is particularly useful in silty soil as it improves both aeration and nutrient retention, reducing the risk of waterlogging while keeping the soil fertile. Regularly rotating crops and planting deep-rooted plants like alfalfa or daikon radishes can naturally break up compacted areas and enhance soil structure.
• Clay Soil - To improve clay soil, focus on aeration and structure. Adding organic compost, or helps break up heavy clumps, improving drainage and oxygen flow. Biochar is particularly beneficial in clay soil because it helps loosen the dense structure, increasing porosity and reducing waterlogging. Planting cover crops like rye or clover also introduces organic matter while preventing further compaction. Avoid excessive tilling, as this can worsen compaction over time. 

The amount of each amendment you use will depend on the size of your garden and, thankfully, most commercially available offerings list application rates. It is generally better to focus on doing a small plot well rather than doing a huge area poorly.

Tilling: When to Do It (or Skip It)

Tilling can be useful for breaking up compacted soil and incorporating amendments, but it should be done sparingly. Tilling once to prepare a new garden bed is acceptable; however, frequent tilling disrupts soil microbial networks, destroys natural soil structure, and may ultimately lead to compaction and increased erosion. Rather than repeatedly tilling, use cover crops, mulch, and compost to maintain soil fertility and structure. Embracing no-till practices allows worms and beneficial microbes to naturally integrate organic matter, supporting long-term soil health. This will lead to healthier soil, healthier plants, and much less work for you as a gardener.

Container & Raised Bed Soil Tips

Container gardening, while not without its own challenges, is a wonderful way to get into gardening, particularly if you live in an urban area or can’t plant in-ground. Unless you are setting up a huge number of containers, where the cost savings of mixing your own potting mix is worth it, I would recommend you start with a high-quality organic potting mix. There are many great brands specifically formulated for container gardening, and a good mix should be lightweight, well-draining, and contain ingredients like peat moss, coco coir, perlite, and compost. Some woody material (often labelled as recycled forest products) is fine, but if it looks more like mulch than soil, go with another offering.

Raised Beds can be approached in various ways, and while you can use bagged potting mix (or a mixture of bagged potting mix and top soil) it can quickly get very expensive.

The two most popular methods for filling up raised beds are: 

“Perfect Soil” 

1. 50% High-Quality Top Soil, which provides structure and a base for plant roots. 
2. 30% Organic Compost, which enhances fertility, microbial life, and organic matter. If possible, mix multiple sources of compost. 
3. 20% Aeration Materials, which can be perlite, coarse sand, or biochar. This ensures good drainage and prevents compaction. 

“Mel’s Mix”

1. ⅓ Peat Moss - Improves moisture retention and prevents soil from compacting. 
2. ⅓ Vermiculite or Perlite - Enhances aeration and drainage, preventing waterlogging. 
3. Compost (a blend of multiple sources) – Provides essential nutrients and beneficial microbes for plant growth. 

Both are incredibly productive and effective. If you have access to a good organic soil yard, I would suggest going with the Perfect Soil mix, as it is likely more cost-effective and environmentally friendly (as Peat Moss is a bit of a controversial ingredient).

Healthy Soil, Happy Gardens: Start Where You Are

While this all may come across as a bit overwhelming, I encourage you to simply start with what you have and follow along. Healthy soil is the foundation of a thriving garden, and with the right approach, any soil can be improved. Whether you're working with native soil or filling raised beds, adding compost, mulch, and organic amendments will create a fertile environment for your plants.

Soil isn’t just dirt—it’s a living ecosystem. By nurturing it, you’re setting yourself up for a productive, sustainable garden that will reward you season after season. Just start where you are, and your soil (and plants) will thank you! 

This blog was written by, Aaron Aiken if you'd like to find him on socials, you can find him as @heygardenzaddy.