Healthy Soil
Improving your Soil
There are few gardeners who are in the fortunate position of having "perfect" soil and even if you think you have ideal soil, the chances are that if you neglect it, it won't be ideal for very long.
So what can you do to improve less than ideal soil and then to maintain your soil in the best condition? In the broadest terms you may need to open up the soil by digging and then allowing nature to complete the work.
Then you may need to add a variety of materials to improve the fertility of the soil.
Which particular materials you add will depend on the fundamental nature of soil in your locality and what previous treatment it has received.
Opening Up the Soil Structure
The soil needs to be opened up to improve drainage and to introduce air that helps organic matter in the soil to break down and release nutrients.
Nature has its own methods for opening up the soil such as rain, frost and winds, helped along by the action of earthworms and other living creatures. However, for maximum productivity, most gardeners will find that they need to give nature a hand by getting physical with a spade. This is particularly true if the soil has become compacted for example by being walked on too much.
Read on for Tips about Digging Over your Garden
Soil Fertile
Just as humans and animals need to eat and drink in order to grow and be healthy, so plants must also receive the right nutrients in more or less the correct quantities.
Although nature has its own means of providing these nutrients, they are usually only sufficient to sustain healthy growth of naturally occurring plants. Once you start to cultivate land for growing vegetables, fruit and flowers you tend to use up the nutrients in the soil quicker than nature is able to replenish them unaided.
Consequently, it is necessary for the gardener to add various materials that help to keep the soil in a healthy condition for producing the best crops.
Read more about Types of Soil |
Read more about Soil and Climate |