SoilBefore you start prepping your garden, check what’s already growing there — plants are great indicators of soil type and fertility. In acidic soils, you might find field horsetail, common sorrel, plantain, and buttercup. Weakly acidic and neutral soils typically host fragrant chamomile, coltsfoot, creeping bentgrass, field bindweed, garden thistle, meadow clover, and creeping clover. Where the soil solution is close to neutral, you’ll often see stinging nettle.
If you find alder, aspen, or willow nearby, avoid planting fruit crops in that spot. If you spot oak, maple, rowan, wild rose, and grasses and legumes in the vicinity, the area is suitable for planting fruit trees.
You can also test the soil by hand. Take a handful of topsoil and knead it into a thick “dough,” then form a ring. If the ring holds together without cracking, the soil is clayey. If you can’t form a ring and the dough crumbles, the soil is loamy. If the soil is sandy, you won’t be able to form any shape at all.
