One of the most difficult truths for new gardeners to grasp is that gardening is hard work. Most gardening programs on TV don’t show the digging, planting, sweating, fighting off mosquitos, and checking for ticks after a long day in the garden. They also don’t show you how to improve soil that is sandy or filled with lumps of sticky clay, or just a gray dust with the consistency of talcum powder. TV gardening shows definitely don’t show you what to do if your soil consists of all three types: sand, clay, and dust.
Unfortunately, you may find these soil types in some regions of Gloucester. In other words, we don’t have just one type of soil, which is typical of Virginia’s Coastal Plain. The soils in the Tidewater region were deposited as the sea level dropped millions of years ago, leaving poor to infertile, acid soil that varies from fine sand to thick, sticky clay. Both sand and clay are problematic, and not just because of lack of nutrients. Sandy soil drains quickly, leaving a thick...