On that plot you plant gardens, tend your lawn and build a house that becomes a home. A home surrounded by beautiful fragrant flowers, healthy trees and shrubs and ripening garden vegetables.

The soil that enables us to accomplish all this is a complex system involving more than 10,000 components. Some of these components include, soil microbes, bacteria, fungi, decaying plant material, organic matter, sand, silt, clay, humus and several minerals.

You can only adjust a few of your soil's components. Luckily these are the components that can make a difference in your lawn or garden. Your SOIL PERFECT test results will identify these components and tell you what adjustments to make to obtain that elusive green thumb.

Soil Nutrients

What is pH?
Soil pH measures the degree of acidity or alkalinity. The pH scale ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 14. Normal plant growth occurs with a pH ranging from 5.5 to 7.5. Some plant life can exist outside of those ranges, but only on a limited scale.

The pH value is the single most important soil factor you need to regulate. If soil pH is not correct, none of the complex biochemical systems within plants function properly.

Calcium carbonate, a type of limestone rock, is often used to adjust a soil pH. Your garden center can advise you on what soil additives are needed to adjust pH.

What is organic matter?
Organic matter is residue left by all plants that have grown and are decaying in soil. The higher the level of organic matter, the greater the soil's water holding capacity. Soil with a higher level of organic matter produces the best plants.

What is nitrogen?
Nitrogen is the soil element that makes plants green. A few other things also aid in plant coloring: chlorophyll, phosphorous and iron.

Other than water, nitrogen is the biggest component of plants. It can account for up to 5 percent of the total weight of annual plants. Plants lacking nitrogen have a pale color instead of a lush green color.

Extreme care is very important when applying nitrogen. The correct amount is wonderful but too much is extremely harmful to plants.

What is phosphorous?
Phosphorous is essential for a plant's energy production. All plants, from the smallest grass to the mightiest redwood, go through a photosynthesis process, using sunlight to produce energy. Without phosphorous, this process cannot take place.

Phosphorous helps perennial plants and turf build strong roots and develop winter hardiness. Winter hardy plants and lawns green up earlier and grow faster each spring, provided their roots have access to the correct amount of phosphorous.

Phosphorous is an important component in the "fruit set" process. Ever ask how your neighbor grows those big luscious tomatoes? Probably their phosphorous level is optimized every year.

What is potassium?
The granddaddy of soil elements is potassium. Potassium is the "Cation for Anions". No, we are not turning this discussion into a chemistry class. We're just quoting a world famous botanist, who said that potassium is the locomotive which pulls the other elements around the plant and helps maintain electrical balance within the cell.

Potassium is the water pressure regulator of the plant kingdom. Potassium's role as the water regulator is particularly important for large plants, flowers, trees etc. Potassium regulates the stalk strength of those larger plants. Trees, grass, flowers and shrubs all become much stronger after several years of proper potassium fertilization. Correct soil potassium levels enable plants to survive mild drought stress. Plants without the correct potassium level wither and die.

What is calcium?
Calcium is a soil nutrient often overlooked because you receive it for free when you apply limestone. Calcium is ignored particularly in the western United States, where soils have naturally occurring high pH levels. These types of soils never require limestone applications to adjust the soil pH. Therefore, they are often short of calcium and leave the plants wanting.

Although plants don't use calcium like we do for strong bones, they do need calcium to form strong buds and fruits. Plants need calcium to help build and elongate the walls of the cells, which make up plant stems. If your plants are short and sometimes shrivel, you may be short of calcium.

What is magnesium?
Magnesium is primarily used in the synthesis of chlorophyll and several enzymes within plants. Magnesium is essential for the synthesis of ribosomal proteins. These are important proteins for plant growth and development.

Plants with low magnesium are often stunted and have little vigor. They look normal but just don't grow.