DIGGING INTO THE TRUTH ABOUT SOIL
To a lot of people, soil is just dirt which makes it a little difficult for it to get respect. But the truth is that soil is a miracle that’s right under our feet.
Weird as it may seem, soil is filled with bacterial life that enables plants to thrive in a wide variety of conditions and environments which in it’s true essence, makes the soil a living thing.
However, should you remove all the good, nutrient, organic things that provide moisture and nourish our plants then you are really left with just dirt, a finely ground layer of pulverized stone and clay devoid of the biology that gives it life and value and that is why as fine gardeners, we need to be conscious of the soil and its health in all of our landscapes.
WHAT IS SOIL HEALTH?
According to studies “Soil health is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Healthy soil gives us clean air and water, bountiful crops and forests, productive grazing lands, diverse wildlife, and beautiful landscapes. Soil does all this by performing five essential functions:
- Regulating water – Soil helps control where rain, snow-melt, and irrigation water goes. Water flows over the land or into and through the soil.
- Sustaining plant and animal life – The diversity and productivity of living things depends on soil.
- Filtering and buffering potential pollutants – The minerals and microbes in soil are responsible for filtering, buffering, degrading, immobilizing, and detoxifying organic and inorganic materials, including industrial and municipal by-products and atmospheric deposits.
- Cycling nutrients – Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other nutrients are stored, transformed, and cycled in the soil.
- Providing physical stability and support – Soil structure provides a medium for plant roots. Soils also provide support for human structures and protection for archaeological treasures.”
We understand that soil is a living system that is critical to sustaining all life on this planet and as humans we should support healthy soil that exhibits resistance to degradation and the ability to recover quickly from adverse events such as drought, hurricanes, drought and other negative impacts.
Only living things can be classified as healthy or unhealthy and soil falls into all the category of all things living because of all the living bacteria it hold and knowing this is what will push us to making wiser choices that support the important work it has evolved to do for our planet and at a smaller scale, our gardens.
PROCESSES THAT AFFECT SOIL HEALTH:
There are three fundamental processes that can greatly impact soil health:
- Chemical: This process provides essential macro and micro nutrients for plants: the soils PH level has to be optimized for the specific types of plants you are trying to grow.
- Physical: This includes dynamic characteristics of soil such as drainage capabilities, the soils structure and composition, and degree of compaction which affects the roots ability to grow and spread.
- Biological: This is the cycle of life within the soil- most biological processes and activity occurs near the surface of the soil where all the organic material resides .
Much of what we do to our soil comes from a lack of understanding and not malice, that is why soil should be nurtured as much as the plants that are put into it cause when it is healthy, it is the greatest asset you could ever have.
Compaction and toxification are two of the biggest dangers, so if you have a concern for your soils health, here are some things to consider:
Soil Testing: To determine what minerals are abundant or lacking get your soil tested. Testing soil can be done on your own or you can give us a try. We typically measure the levels of soil PH, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and, at times, nitrogen. You may also, by request get a report on the soils micro-nutrient content although if you add a lot of organic matter to your soil, this would not be much of an essential report for you. Toxicity can also be found through testing if you fear potential lead content in what might be a future vegetable garden.
Soil texture and type: In addition to uncovering all the nutritional value in your soil, you might want to examine it’s texture. Sand constitutes the biggest particles and feels gritty to the touch. The silt particles which are slippery when wet and powdery when dry are next in size. The smallest pieces are clay that are flat and tend to stack together like plates or sheets of paper. You do not need an expert to determine soil texture, just pick up some sand and rub it between your fingers to feel if it is gritty, which is considered sandy. If the soil feels smooth like baby powder, that means it is silty and if the soil feels harsh when dry and slippery and sticky when wet, the soil is heavy clay. Most soils will fall somewhere in between.
Sandy soil tends lack nutrients since the nutrients and water rapidly drain through the large spaces between the sand particles. These soils also tend to be low in beneficial microbes and organic matter that plants thrive on.
Silty soils do not drain well and are dense because they are more fertile than either sandy or clay soils.
Because there isn’t much space between the clay particles, heavy clay soils are dense, do not drain well and tend to be hard and crack when dry due to there being a lack of organic matter or microbial life in the soil making it hard for plant roots to grow.
If the soil in your landscape is overly wet and worked over too much, there is a high chance that it is severely damaged. Heavy equipment can compact and damage even the healthiest soil.
Air and water: Just like all living things, soil needs air and water. Air in the soil holds atmospheric nitrogen that can be converted into a usable form for plants. Soil oxygen is also crucial to the survival of soil organisms that benefit plants. Good soil provides just the right space between it’s particles to hold air that plants will use. Adding organic matter, especially compost will help balance the air supply.
The best soils have a blend of small and large pore spaces. Adding organic matter is the best way to improve the structure of your soil and organic matter holds water so that plants can use it when they need it. [Text Wrapping Break]
With fine gardening, it is best to know that good soil health is a balancing act, just like our own health. You never want too much of one thing and not enough of another hence ;why too much water or food is not healthy. Take the time to test and analyze your soil to support your soil structure and feed your soils biology, that is how your plants will thrive.
