Six Tips for Building Healthy Soil
Soil is so much more than dirt. Soil is a living ecosystem—a large community of living organisms linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Every teaspoon of soil is home to billions of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, and earthworms that play important roles.
- Bacteria and fungi break down dead plant and animal tissue which become nutrients for plants.
- Nematodes eat plant material and other soil organisms, releasing plant nutrients in their waste.
- Specialized mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationships with plants. The fungi bring hard-to-reach nutrients and water directly to plant roots, and the plants provide the fungi with carbohydrates.
- Worms and insects shred and chew organic material into smaller bits bacteria and fungi can easily access.
- Garden earthworms burrow and create pathways in soil that fill with air and water for plant roots.
A healthy soil ecosystem provides plants with easy access to air, water, and nutrients. Here are six tips for achieving optimum soil health in your garden.
Tip 1: Don't Till Your Soil
No-till gardening is the practice of avoiding the intentional disruption of soil. Rather than using plows, spades, hoes, or other tools to routinely “turn over” soil, it is more or less left alone. Additionally, many no-till gardeners choose to leave the roots of spent plants in place. At the end of the growing season, cut plants out at the soil line (or just below the soil) with pruners or a small hand saw – rather than yanking out the entire plant and root system.
Tip 2: Compost
Compost is a pile of organic waste that over time breaks down or “decomposes” into a nutrient.
The compost pile is usually made of a mixture of “green” organic materials like food scraps, garden trimmings or fresh manure and “brown” organic materials like dead or dry leaves, cardboard and wood chips. The “green” materials contain a chemical called nitrogen and the “brown” materials contain a chemical called carbon.
These chemicals, plus air and water, make the perfect living conditions for tiny organisms, like bacteria and moulds, as well as creatures like worms and insects. They feed on the organic matter and help to break it down.
Tip 3: Use Cover Crops
Diversify and rotate crops
Tip 4: Mulch
Mulch is used to retain moisture in the soil, suppress or block weeds, keep the soil and plant roots cool, prevent frost heaving in winter, and make the garden bed and landscape look more attractive.
Tip 5: No Chemicals (Pesticides or Fertilizers)
Consider cover crops, companion planting and beneficial insects to do the work for you.
Tip 6: Test Soil
What do you know about the soil in your garden? Knowing your soil type can help you determine what to plant and how to amend your garden to its best advantage. Soil tests can help you find out the texture, composition and pH (acidity or alkalinity) of your soil.