Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Soil type affects how it retains water and nutrients.Photograph: iStock/Getty Images (Photograph: iStock/Getty Images) I often ...

If you want your plants to grow big and healthy, soil quality matters. Even if you aren’t planning on growing a lush veggie garden, all plants need nutrients to grow, in addition to light and water.

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...

As the leaves turn gold and the air starts carrying that crisp autumn scent, gardeners everywhere start thinking about how to prep their soil for the months ahead. Fall isn’t just a time for pumpkin ...

If you want to grow great garden tomatoes, then you need to make soil selection a major priority. Here's what these plants ...

Many nutrients in soil exist as salts, soluble and available for plant uptake. But when salts accumulate in excess, crop growth can decline. With more frequent surface flooding in coastal fields and ...

Nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient in growing plants. When deficient, plant yields and quality are reduced. However, excessive nitrogen applications could cause concerns in water quality and ...

Anxious about the rueful state of his peas, radishes and onions, Rod Marquardt arrived at the University of Minnesota’s soil testing laboratory with two lunch bag-sized containers of dirt. “We’re just ...

Farmers in a time crunch have a new, speedier option for analyzing the texture and organic matter content of the soil on their fields. Gerson Drescher, assistant professor of soil fertility for the ...