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Vegetable Crops
Improving Soils for Vegetable Gardening
Vegetable plants grow best in a fertile, well-drained soil of loamy texture. Sandy loam soils, well-supplied with organic matter, are easily worked and are quite productive. Unfortunately, many gardens do not contain such soils. 
Very coarse, sandy soils dry out rapidly and are difficult to maintain at a high level of
fertility. Clay soils are hard to work and usually remain wet until late in the spring.
These soils are often yellow or dark brown and sticky when wet; or grayish in color
where drainage is poor. Clay soils tend to form a hard crust after a heavy rain and
become so compacted that the plant's root system is deprived of essential oxygen
required for growth. Clay and sandy soils must be modified for successful vegetable
gardening. MORE
