Knowing all the details about the soil in your garden is a great way to make sure your plants are healthy and happy. Soils contain a mixture of components, including sand, silt, clay, and fertilizer. It is an excellent soil type for a variety of plants.
It is typically comprised of equal parts of sand, silt, and clay and you can mix it yourself or purchase it at a garden center. Loam soil is a perfect option as it holds moisture while still maintaining proper drainage, which allows it to hold onto nutrients that plants need.
If you are looking to introduce some new plants into your garden that love loam soil, check out the list below.
Wisteria
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If you are looking to add color and fragrance to your garden, Wisteria is a great choice. These plants, relatives of the pea family, prefer loam soils that provide good drainage and organic material. Use these beautiful climbing plants to adorn fences, trellises, or pergolas.
Delphinium
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Delphiniums are an excellent way to add a vibrant pop of color to your garden. Also known as Larkspur, these plants come in a variety of bloom colors, including pink, purple, blue, and white. They thrive in sunny areas with loam soil and will do well in places that have cool and moist summers.
Tomatoes
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Tomatoes are a gardening staple, and they thrive in loam soils. Tomatoes love sunshine and heat, and loam soils help hold onto the heat of the day. Rich, organic nutrients in loam soil will allow you to grow large and flavorful tomatoes.
Lettuce
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Lettuce is an easy-to-grow garden vegetable that you can harvest all summer long. When planting lettuce in loam soil, it is important to water regularly, particularly during spells of hot and dry weather. Lettuce thrives in well-draining loam soil, but leaves will start to dry out fast if the soil is not kept moist.
Carrots
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Fresh carrots from the garden are a summertime essential. Carrots are essentially one big taproot that grows deep into the soil to find water and nutrients. As loam soil does a great job of holding onto that water and nutrients, it is a great choice for carrots.
Beans
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Beans love the heat, but they don't want dry soil. Loam soil holds up well to hot, dry weather by holding moisture in clay particles. Beans also love the looseness of loam soil that the sand particles provide. Make sure to add organic material or fertilizer to your soil as well to increase your bean harvest.
Strawberries
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Bright red and juicy strawberries are a gardener's delight, and loose, loam soils are exactly what you need to grow them. These delicious berries prefer loose loam soil with a lot of organic material. Well-drained areas are key, and strawberries even prefer to grow on a slight slope.
Honeysuckle
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Honeysuckle is a great option if you're looking for a shrub to grow in loam soil. The colorful and unique blooms will brighten your garden and attract helpful pollinators. This easy to grow shrub has the added benefit of producing a sweet fragrance that fills your garden.
Butterfly Bush
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Another pollinator-friendly bush, Butterfly Bush, also loves to grow in loam soil. This plant has dramatic blooms that attract butterflies, bees, flies, and hummingbirds. To make sure your butterfly bush produces a lot of flowers, plant in a spot that gets at least 8 hours of sun a day.
Rosemary
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Rosemary is a Mediterranean herb that does well in dry and sandy soils. Loam soil gives it the balance between loose sand and moisture-retaining clay. Rosemary is hardy in a wide range of zones but does prefer sunny areas with slightly more acidic soils.
Lavender
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Lavender is a fragrant and eye-catching herb that thrives in sandy or loam soils. Use it in the kitchen to add floral notes to baking and cooking, or dry it and enjoy the calming scent all year round. Lavender is a great choice if you are looking to make your garden more resistant to deer and rabbits as they avoid grazing on it.
In Summary
Loam soils are a great choice to support various garden plants. Whether you are looking to grow herbs, fruits, vegetables, or flowers, you can find something that will thrive in loam soil. Due to a mixture of equal parts clay, sand, and silt, loam soil holds onto moisture while maintaining good drainage. Large sand particles keep soil loose so roots can grow and access air in the soil, while clay and silt hold moisture and nutrients. Overall, loam soil provides plants with everything they need to be successful in your garden.