Is Garden Soil A Pure Substance. Amendments may include compost or other organic matter and some soils like perennial potting mixes have added ingredients to encourage growth of specific types of plants. Garden soil is an amendment that is mixed with native soil while potting soil is used alone for container gardens like potted houseplants and window boxes.
If a substance can be separated into its elements it is a compound. Table salt is sodium chloride but it is rarely pure and can contain trace amounts of other chlorides like potassium chloride and calcium chloride. Once the soils filtering and buffering capacity is exceeded the soil releases the stored pollutants which end up in the groundwater or are uptaken by plants and thus enter the food chain.
These mixtures help the soil retain moisture but drain properly and add beneficial nutrients to the garden bed for optimal plant development.
Most plants need a pH that is slightly acidic between 65 and 7 but others ivy or flowering vines like clematis and jasmine and dark leafy green vegetables as well as cruciferous vegetables asparagus and squash prefer slightly alkaline soil conditions and will thrive at pH levels up to 75 or 8. Most plants need a pH that is slightly acidic between 65 and 7 but others ivy or flowering vines like clematis and jasmine and dark leafy green vegetables as well as cruciferous vegetables asparagus and squash prefer slightly alkaline soil conditions and will thrive at pH levels up to 75 or 8. Depending on who you talk to homogeneous mixtures may be considered examples of pure substances. Odd as it seems animal manure is an organic material that is often used to improve garden soil.
