Improving Soil Conditions in Your Monterey Bay Landscape

Carmel Point Landscapes does a lot of landscape work throughout Monterey Bay, Carmel, and Big Sur. Almost every landscape in the Monterey Bay area can have a different soil type—hard pack clay, silt, sand, loam, or pure rock.

Monterey Bay soils can vary drastically from site to site.When we encounter difficult soil types, Carmel Point Landscapes adds organic materials into the soil to improve its structure.

Improving soil structure will help the soil's ability to drain, retain nutrients and moisture, and improve aeration.

The three most common organic materials we use in landscapes throughout the Carmel, Monterey Bay area, and Big Sur are organic compost, topsoil, and mulch.

Compost

Compost has to be mixed into the natural soil to avoid burning the roots of your plants. Monterey Peninsula water management district requires 6" of compost ripped into the planting beds as part of their landscape code requirement. Compost is a great way to increase soil biology and improve nutrition for your plants. 

Topsoil

Topsoil is something we use in the landscape when the site is unsuitable for planting. For example, some areas are pure rock/Carmel stone or dry, compacted clay.

In these sites, which are impossible to dig without a jackhammer, we will often berm up or mound up the beds with topsoil, creating interest in elevation but also allowing us to plant.

We often mix topsoil and compost 1:1 to raise the area up and increase nutrition at the same time.

Mulch

Mulch is how we finish our projects, and it is topdressed 3" thick around plants, but not directly on the trunks/base of your trees/shrubs.

There are different types of mulch available, usually consisting of tree bark or shredded wood, which is a byproduct of the wood industry. We use small or mini bark in most of our landscapes, which is purchased locally from Monterey Bay area suppliers.

Mulch is probably the best thing for your landscape. Besides giving your landscape a finished look, mulches also insulate soil temperatures, improve biological activities, add nutrients as they decompose, and prevent bacteria from splashing back on your plants when it rains. 

Before we plant your landscape, we first improve your soil conditions by amending the planting areas with compost, topsoil, or both.

After we install your plants, we topdress the bed with an organic mulch. The root systems of your plants are the most important factor for growth. Plants will develop stronger and faster-growing roots that will produce bigger, healthier, and more vigorous gardens if we start off with good soil.

One of my professors at Cal Poly would always tell his soil science class that, 'A fertile soil is better than a fertilized one,' and that's what we try to do—build a living, breathing, fertile soil.