Improve Your Garden Soil

 5 Tips to Improve Your Garden Soil

If you are a gardener, you know that soil is important. You have undoubtedly noticed that as the gardens grow richer, the land beneath them becomes proportionately darker, richer, and looser. You may have developed an instinct for something that is not right: a hard digging bed, yellow leaves, a waterlogged corner, or the general feeling that some plants are growing bigger and better. How to make good soil even better? How to improve problem areas with a small TLC? Like the plants they bear, the soil is alive. With the instinct to cultivate organisms, an experienced gardener can grow healthy and more fertile soil with these five simple tips.

Tip 1: Cover the floor

If you are already mulching, no doubt you are, good for you! Soil covering is one of the best ways to enhance soil biology. In addition to providing shelter and conserving moisture, organic mulch actually feeds the living soil.

By this measurement, the quality of the envelope that is, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C: N) - determines the nutrient value of the envelope as the feed of the soil. If you buy and use bundled commercial mulch, try switching to high-quality woody mulch (freshly cut green trees; photo above right) or leaf axis (composted leaves for one to two years; photo on the left). Both have a very low C: N ratio, meaning more food for both plants and soil organisms, and if decomposed, the leaf axis becomes soft and brittle, and the leaf of the new leaf loses its water-repellent tendency. Use 2 to 4 inches of twigs or 1 to 2 inches of leaf fungus in the fall or spring to feed the soil, retain moisture, and keep weeds in the bay throughout the season. Be sure to water the extra dry soil before and after adding mulch to the biological activity of the jump-start soil. Contact a local arborist or try ChipDrop.com to get wood chips.

Tip 2: Do not waste your resources

Natural systems efficiently recycle organic matter to grow living soil. As gardeners, sometimes we have to get out of the way and allow nature to take its course. One way to do this is to look at what is in front of you.

Many techniques are used to create naturally occurring organic resources in your garden. Mulching with shredded seedless weeds, recycling pesticide-free grass clippings or garden mulch (top photo), and placing perennial cuttings on top of the soil (top photo below) all reflect natural processes in grasslands and forests. A biologically active soil will decompose and attach most of these substances to the soil surface in a couple of years. Be careful not to spread the material for good soil contact and air/water flow, as piles of wet weeds can infect snails and other insects. If you want a cleaner garden look, use these recycled resources under another balanced mulch. These efficient ways of fertilizing not only feed the living soil but also save another precious garden resource: your time.

Tip 3: Let it rot

Like all good things, excess soil food is still abundant. Like the human gut, the soil needs time to digest - this is called decomposition or composting. If the organic matter you add disappears, your diet will be successful. If you start noticing the formation of decomposing material, you are feeding faster than eating the soil.

Excess fresh organic residue can cause drainage problems or cause wet-loving pests or diseases in wet weather. As built-in materials decompose, they can lock in nutrients. Too much organic manure, compost, and manure for many years, on the other hand, leads to problems with excess nutrients.

A lab can measure the percentage of organic matter in your soil, but there are many variables between labs and between soils to provide a consistent goal. The best approach is to assess the quality of the soil by three visible stages of organic matter decomposition: the non-perishable material that looks like leaves, roots, or stems; Partially decomposed material is still known to be derived from the plant, but from what And humus, microscopic organic matter will make your fingers black. A good quality soil, one that is more or less organic, has a ratio of three, which is a definite sign of soil with good metabolism.

Tip 4: Invest in soil testing

We have heard how to do soil testing, but how many of us follow it? Getting a clean slate like a soil test, and going to the doctor is always worth the investment. However, this is not necessary to change the fertilizer selection well. Well-balanced organic inputs and occasional organic fertilizers take care of this naturally. A soil test helps to confirm that there is nothing essential. Before investing in a new garden, if it reveals a serious nutritional deficiency, this is invaluable information. Y. What’s more, you get a good foundation for the pH and texture of the soil, two key factors in soil maintenance results.

Alternatively, a soil test may indicate nutrient accumulation due to feeding on excess soil. In these cases, leakage and erosion of excess nutrients can have unfortunate environmental consequences for surface and groundwater. In severe cases, too many nutrients can burn the plants, leading to excessive leaf growth or making the plants more susceptible to pests and diseases. Phosphorus, in particular, is a good indicator of organic matter. Results in the upper-upper range of soil phosphorus indicate that it is time to retire from organic fertilizers and corrections.

If your garden becomes a gangster, no new information will be available, even if you do a soil test from the home edition or the complete university lab. However, if you find problems with plant health, a soil test such as a trip to the doctor should be one of your first steps.

Tip 5: Look at your plants

With all the testing and fertilizer recommendations involved in discussions about soil improvement, we could lose sight of our most basic and powerful tool: plant observation. How are your plants? Nine out of ten, the answer will say something about the soil.

Are the leaves yellow or stunted (top photo left)? Check for signs of common malnutrition to check your less prosperous plants. Does eating too much soil trap important nutrients? See if the added organic matter decomposes at the rate you add. Does stagnant soil prevent optimal growth? Watch the flow of water through the garden or do a simple penetration test. Do plants continue to get sick even after you fix the obvious soil problems? Examine the soil.

But if your plants are vibrant, growing, and green, your soil is more likely to be alive (photo above right). Take a handle to check. Breathe in the smell of the soil and let your growing experience guide you in feeding, covering, and maintaining the living soil.