How to Optimize Your Soil
Soil is a gardener’s most precious asset. The perfect soil contains microorganisms, plenty of nutrients, and a balanced structure. Here are some tips on how to keep your soil in peak condition so that your plants thrive every year.
Though many gardeners take it for granted, the soil is our most precious asset. If we are going to get the most out of it, we need to keep our soil in peak condition. Healthy soil contains microorganisms, plenty of nutrients, and a balanced structure. In this article, we will look at ways to keep your precious asset in the best possible health.
A balanced soil is rich in organic matter and contains plenty of living organisms. Healthy soil is filled with living microscopic organisms and plants cannot grow healthily without them. In fact, one teaspoon of healthy soil contains more microorganisms than there are people on earth!
These organisms break down organic matter such as plant debris, compost, manure, or grass clippings. As a result of their efforts, your soil becomes humus-rich. Humus is broken-down organic matter upon which our plants feed.
As the microorganisms break down organic matter, they also open up the soil which allows for the passage of water and air as well as easier access to the plant’s root system.
It’s impossible to grow healthy plants without nutrient-rich soil. One way to ensure your soil has these necessary nutrients is by adding chemical fertilizers. Some gardeners have no problems using chemicals; others swear against them. Adding chemicals has pros and cons, so it is up to you to decide if you want to add them to your garden.
Though these problems are primarily caused by the industrial use of chemicals rather than small gardens, they are still factors to consider.
As you can see, there are pros and cons to adding chemical fertilizers. If you use chemicals, just make sure to read the label thoroughly and use them safely. If you decide against chemicals, there are non-chemical options (such as organic fertilizer) that ensure your soil has all the nutrients it needs.
We will now look at ways by which you can improve your soil to create a perfectly balanced structure.
This one is at the top of the list because it is the number one go-to magical product for any gardener. Compost will improve the texture and quality of almost any soil while also adding nutrients and increasing microbial life. You can dig it into the soil of your beds when you prepare for planting and again at the end of the season. It also comes with the added advantage of being free. Every garden should include a compost heap or bin somewhere.
For many gardeners, manure is one of the most useful fertilizers available. It is rich in nutrients and at the same time helps to bulk up the soil and increase water retention. Although it provides an almost perfectly balanced natural fertilizer, it needs at least six months to break down before adding it to your beds. If the manure you use is too fresh, you risk burning the roots of your plants.
Here is another free material that is often referred to as black gold in the gardening community. Many people burn the piles of leaves that they gather in the fall. This is a waste of a valuable free resource, as leaves can be a great soil conditioner. Once broken down, leaves form a rich black mold that can really add texture to your soil. This will cause the soil to retain more moisture and bring with it a wealth of microscopic creatures that will add to the soil’s biodiversity.
Cover crops are plants that you sow into your beds during the off-season. The plants bind nitrogen into the soil and suppress weed growth. Before planting, dig the cover crop material into the soil where it breaks down to improve texture and add nutrients.
Certain plants require more nutrients than others. Over time, the soil is depleted and the plants will fail to thrive. Another problem is that pests that favor that plant will build up in the soil. These problems can easily be avoided by simply changing what crops you plant into each bed every year.
Turning the soil over with a fork or spade before planting helps you achieve a few goals. First, you open the soil, which allows air to penetrate it. At the same time, you make it easier for plant roots to pass through. Luckily, you don’t need to work the soil much to achieve these goals. It was once popular to really dig soil, but we are now starting to learn that the amount of digging needed to maintain your soil in peak condition is quite minimal, meaning less backache.
It would be a great shame to dig your soil over and work it into a perfect condition and then simply crush the air out of it by walking on it. You can avoid this by not working the soil when it is wet and treading on it as little as possible when you work in the beds. If you need to walk on your beds, lay down a plank and work from there so that your weight is more evenly distributed. Think carefully when designing your beds so that in most instances you can reach all areas of the beds without stepping into them.
This is another product that is often very cheap and which offers many advantages. Mulch is simply biodegradable material that is laid onto the soil surface around the plants. No matter what type of mulch you opt for, it reduces evaporation from the soil, retains moisture, and acts as a weed deterrent. Straw is popular, but there are dozens of other different options. One option is to mulch with compost during the hottest periods in summer to reduce the amount of water you use. If compost is in short supply, then leaf mold works just as well.