The rich scent of healthy, black soil—sometimes it's more enticing than a flower. It calls out to us. It compels us to sink our hands into it. We can instinctively distinguish between rich, black humus and worn-out, grey dirt. The success of all of our plants, flowers, and vegetablesdepends on the quality of our soil. Luckily, there are some pretty simple ways to build this precious resource.
Before we get our hands dirty, let's take a look at what soil really is. The words dirt and soil are often used the same way, but soil has a special quality that dirt doesn't have—soil is alive. Quite literally, soil is composed of thousands of microorganisms, insects, and worms that are constantly churning up the organic matter, breaking it down for plants to use, and even collaborating with plants to build a soil ecosystem. We call this organic layer humus, and it contains all the decaying plant material and soil microbes. Without it, your plants can't grow. A mixture of humus, minerals, water, and air are the components of top-quality soil.[/fusion_text][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="default" rule_size="" rule_color="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]
Compost makes one of the best additions. It's a soil microbe paradise. We recommend adding at least one inch per growing season. It's best to keep your own compost pile and spread it once or twice per year.
Aged manure is another excellent source of organic matter and nitrogen that plants need to thrive. Your soil will benefit from having a diversity of organic inputs.
Protect your Soil It's common to see black earth exposed in many gardens, but the sun can harm the top layer of soil bugs, and wind and rain will erode your precious humus.
Mulching protects your microbes from the elements. Try using a bark mulch if you're growing woody shrubs or perennials, annuals and vegetables. For annuals, especially annual vegetables, you can mulch with grass clippings in the summer and leaves in the fall to protect the earth over winter.
Cover cropping is another way to protect your vegetable bed and to add organic matter at the same time. It's more of an advanced technique, but it's not that complicated. You simply seed in a crop like clover or buckwheat between your veggies. Before it goes to seed, cut it to layer on top of the soil as mulch or lightly till it in as green manure.
Build Your Soil StructureDifferent soils have different textures depending on the size of the inorganic materials, ranging from sand-, silt- or clay-based soil. The organic matter in your humus binds with the inorganic minerals to create structure. Ideally, you want soil that allows airflow to the microorganisms, as well as excellent water absorption and drainage.
Dig with care to build your soil structure. By avoiding excess tilling and disturbance, you let the microbes create the environment that they like, which also happens to be the best for air and water flow to your plants. So use your tools wisely.
Use permanent paths, or in other words, don't step on your soil. Walking on your beds compresses all of the tiny tunnels and holes that your little friends have worked so hard to create. Instead, use regular paths to walk on, or lay down boards in your veggie patch.
Go Organic The latest soil science tells us that pesticides actually kill the wonderful creatures that make our soil alive. In the absence of healthy humus, chemical fertilizers give plants a quick boost, but they don't build the soil in the long-term. Healthy, living soil where critters have a chance to thrive, builds itself and gets better over time—as long as we add organic compost, mulch, or manure every so often.
Knowing that the most essential part of the soil is the organic layer, we shouldn't be surprised that using more organic fertilizers is a crucial part of building great soil. Soil science is a complex discipline, but building quality soil is pretty straightforward. If you have questions about adding mineral amendments or want some advice about your particular soil, please feel to contact us or stop by our garden centers in northwest Arkansas. We'd be happy to give you the latest dirt on building quality soil!
