Soil plays a very important role in gardening and plantation and if a wrong type of soil is used, plants may cease to grow. Among all types of soil, loams are considered being the perfect soils, a mix of 40 % sand, 40% silt and 20% clay. Keep in mind that any soil can be turned into productive soil with a little work. The most important thing you can do to improve your soil is add organic matter. The best time of year to work on soil improvement by adding organic material to the garden is in the fall by incorporating it into the soil and letting nature do its thing. Leaves from deciduous trees and needles from conifer trees may be gathered in the fall for composting and/or soil incorporation. Peat moss is an excellent material, high in organic matter and somewhat acidic. Manure is an excellent source of organic matter. Grass clippings are an excellent material to mulch the garden soil surface to reduce weed problems and to conserve moisture.