My First Garden in SW Florida

This will be my first garden here in Ft. Myers Florida and I think I messed it up before even planting.

I bought a lot of bags of potting soil for the garden but now when it gets wet it seems like muck. I am afraid the plants will get root rot in it.

Help.

ANSWER:

If your garden soil seems "mucky", you can buy a couple of bags of vermiculite and mix it into the soil.

The vermiculite will absorb water from the surrounding soil, and hold it for later release to your garden vegetable plants. Vermiculite also helps aerate (add air) to the soil.

You can also add some sphagnum moss to the soil. It also helps "lighten" the density of the soil, and creates better drainage.