Silvia
Soil comprises water, organic matter, mineral particles, microorganisms, and air. The balance between these components should be maintained if you want to have a healthy garden. Soil has life. If you do not support these components, the balance will be disturbed. Just like every living thing, it needs proper nourishment to grow vegetables.
To have healthy plants, you must have nourished garden soil. If the soil is unhealthy, it cannot support good plant life. Loose soil brings inadequate air circulation and drainage. Healthy soil is loaded with organic matter, minerals, and nutrients which gives ample nutrients to the plants.
How does organic matter help the soil?
Organic matter plays a crucial role in supplying nutrients to plants. It also helps in improving the structure of the soil, enhancing soil buffering, and binding, and reducing pollutants.
How to enrich garden soil?
Do you want a lush, green and healthy garden? There are a variety of ways that can help you enrich the garden soil. Replenishment of organic matter is vital to keep the cycle of soil going.
Load the soil with compost
You must add decomposed organic matter, such as compost, to improve the health of the garden soil. It also helps bring about better drainage and absorption of water, helping to reach the roots of the soil. Organic matter can also prevent plants from common garden issues.
Why opt for a soil test?
Adding compost was a crucial step, but it was not the only step. You have to renew the nutrients of all the regions in the soil. Therefore, going for a soil test every few years is essential to ensure what additional nutrients are necessary to promote plant growth for better production. You need to call a professional for soil testing. Such a test will tell you the number of nutrients present in the soil, helping you to understand the amount of organic matter you have to add to adjust the imbalance.
Why Is mulching important for the soil surface?
Mulching is the prime reason for a healthy garden soil because it enhances the health of the plants. The process does not only stimulate the natural growth conditions, but it also retains simple soil moisture to keep the soil cool, limiting the growth of pests. Mulching helps enhance the fertility of the soil.
Is crop rotation important?
If you want to maintain the quality of the plant, then you need to rotate crops in different locations of the garden to prevent the depletion of nutrients. Moreover, the rotation will interrupt the pests’ cycle, preventing common garden diseases. Do you know about the three-year rule? You must rotate crops yearly to avoid growing the same family of vegetables in the same place for at least three years. Some plants enrich the health of the soil, such as peas, because it adds nitrogen to the soil matter. As such, it is sensible first to grow nitrogen-taking crops in a garden location and then plant nitrogen-producing crops to balance the cycle.
Some experts from East TN Tree Service Inc. of Knoxville also suggest adding animal manure to improve soil fertility.
Gardening is an ongoing process!
