Improve how your garden looks by taking an interest in the quality of the soil.
Depending on the composition of your land, you will have to:

• improve its physical and chemical properties
• choose the most suitable plants
• adapt the way you work and maintain it

Calcareous soil
A light and pale soil, difficult to cultivate because it holds the water and nutrients.

Sandy or light soils
A poor soil, tending to be acidic, not very easy to shape and lacking in humus

Clayey or heavy soil
A compact soil that leaves little place for air and water. Slow to dry out. Poor draining power.

Medium land
This is the ideal oil for gardening. This soil contains enough sand to be porous, aerated and drained. It also contains enough clay to retain the humidity in dry periods and therefore the fertilising elements.

Humus soil
A superficial soil. This type of soil is light and easy to work.

Two sorts of analyses are necessary to get a better idea of the type of soil you have and to turn it into a soil conducive to the growth of your plants:

pH: acidic, neutral or calcareous?
Do a little test: take a sample of soil, wet it with water (rainwater, neutral mineral water or non-calcareous thawed water from the refrigerator) and dip in it some urine indicator paper that you can obtain from the chemist's. All you have to do now is compare the colour of the paper to the scale of control colours on the packet.

How to know how much of the main substances your soil needs: nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium ?
Test: have your soil analysed or do it yourself using a small soil testing kit.

Nitrogen (N): is necessary for leaf development.

Phosphorous (P): has a beneficial effect on the formation of flowers and fruit as well as on stalks and branches.

Potassium (K): stimulates the vegetation and the development of flowers (a sort of vitamin).
It increases the plant's resistance to external factors and increases tissue rigidity.