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Good soil is the most important first fundamental to growing Roses successfully - or any garden plant. Soil is a fascinating element, and one that is easy to understand. Your soil is a "living" entity. Within it are organic and mineral components and beneficial soil fungi and bacteria that all hold sway with the health of your roses and plants, and consequently, your success with your plants. The trick is in making your soil "sexy" enough to entice those beneficial elements to your garden soil!

With just a touch of knowledge and understanding, you can turn this truly amazing element - your soil - into your greatest garden ally.

Good soil is vital to all forms of life...plant, animal...and us! Henry A. Wallace made an on-target observation, way back in 1938, in the U.S. Dept. of AgricultureYearbook :

"The earth is the mother of us all-plants, animals and men. The phosphorus and calcium of the earth build our skeletons and nervous systems. Everything else our bodies need except air and sun comes from the earth."

Not many of us stop to think that the healthy development of our bodies depends upon the soil of our Earth. Other species and plants, with their lives literally rooted in the soil, are directly connected to earth.

Without soils, no life could exist on earth. All life forms are dependent upon this basic component of life. Humankind, however, is alone in the task of soil modification. We alter it to suit our needs. Often, we have depleted its vitality, or destroyed it with toxic residues. We have chemically treated it, destroying friendly bacteria and fungi along with the bad. But we also have the ability to improve it. Although much of the wisdom of the past has been lost over time, we have regained an understanding of the importance of natural nurture. We have at our command information that can help us give our plants the best of the basics..and thereby provide the best for ourselves.

Soil is a culture of billions of microorganism and a mechanical support for plant roots. The main purpose behind every addition of organic matter is to increase the biological life of soil, yet few gardeners understand that.

When we treat soils so that beneficial bacteria and useful fungi are stimulated, plants grow better and our returns for time, effort and money used are increased. Your soil is more "attractive" and healthful to these beneficial "bugs", which are vital to the health and well-being of your roses and garden plants. This rich, organic-enhanced, "sexy" soil, attracts these vital organisms, will keep the life forces that depend upon one another growing, and keep your soil "fertile" and life-enhancing.

Fungi and bacteria break down the available food elements in the soil into a usable form that can be absorbed by higher plants. Soil organisms are important in another way: as they live and die they absorb, conserve and then gradually release soluble nutrients that might otherwise be lost. Thus, they increase fertilizer utilization many times over.

Air circulation around the roots is also vitally important. If air does not move freely around the roots, or when soil moisture fluctuates widely (sometimes wet and sometimes dry), or when a protective mulch is missing, both plant and fungi suffer. Organic amendments can greatly enhance this function.

If native soils are rich, well-drained and abundantly watered by rainfall, any crop adapted to the region will thrive. The catch is that very few of us are fortunate enough to have ideal conditions.

By the same token, most soils will likely not need major modifications, either. Proper attention to conditioning and amending the soil before first plantings of your roses, and simple, regular, seasonal, additions of organic amendments, such as compost, will go far in making your soil "sexy" enough to attract and harbor all the necessary bio-elements needed for healthy soil, and keep it fertile enough to keep a smile on your roses petals!

Cathy @ The-Rose-Zone.com

About the Author

Give your Roses and garden plants the best possible start! FREE 5-day e-Course! http://www.the-rose-zone.com/su/suformec.html

Discover insights and secrets to growing gorgeous Roses with success -- in my new book -"Roses - Grow Rainbows in Your Garden!" -- here: http://www.The-Rose-Zone.com

FREE Mini-Book! "Compost - Gold for your Garden" - Make Your Soil "Sexy"! http://www.the-rose-zone.com/su/suformc.html