“Why bother? The soil here is trash! Maybe I should just forget about gardening and find a new hobby.” This is the type of question I’ve asked myself in the past and one that you’ve likely wrestled with as well.

I am going to let you in on a secret. Your gardening career is not over. There are ways to improve your soil and have a prize-winning garden yield.

Some reasons why soil health is important are improving your garden yields, enhancing productivity, and even saving the world! But that’s not the whole story…

Why Build Healthy Soil?

I am not going to go all social-justice warrior on you and tell you that it is your responsibility to build up the soil around you, but I kind of am. It is my responsibility, just as it is yours to leave the earth in better shape than we found it. Think of the children!

Soil quality affects the environment of your local area, and beyond. With the health of soil we, as the human species, can improve many of the earth’s environmental problems. 

Healthy soil is a vessel to trap carbon emissions. About one-third of all carbon emissions driving our carbon crisis could be minimized with healthy soil. Soil can grow pants that encourage pollinators (spontaneous colony collapse, anyone?) Healthy soil will provide you with bountiful yields when your garden begins to produce life-giving fruits and vegetables.

With these things in mind, you and I can have a great garden harvest. We can also contribute to the overall health of Mother Earth! Sounds great, right!?

What is your soil telling you?

At the most basic level, the soil is minerals, organic matter, water, oxygen, and even living organisms! Not just the creepy-crawly kind either. The sort of microorganisms that form a symbiotic relationship with the organic matter in the soil and create byproducts that nourish plants. 

The current plant life in your general area can tell you a lot about the soil. For example, certain weeds with taproots like dandelions can show you that your soil is likely compacted and dense. Probably clay, like mine! Dandelions and knapweed thrive in this soil type because the taproot can go deep into the soil and pull up nutrients. 

A whole lot is going on in your soil biology. There are many chemical processes that work harmoniously to allow your plants to flourish! Minerals provide sustenance to the plants. Water allows the plants to grow. Air allows for respiration of the roots and the living organisms feed on the result of all the reactions.

What can I do?

For starters testing the soil is the best way to determine the composition. Not only will you have a handle on the general condition of the soil, but you’ll also know what amendments to add and what steps to take to bring you closer to black gold. 

Many soil testing tools are available such as ph tests, soil composition tests, and even electronic devices that will give you various readings to better understand your soil. Most of these tools can be had for less than a $20 spot. A small price to pay for the reassurance of quality soil!

How do I improve my soil?

Apparently, we have something called “ultisoils” here in the southeast which sounds pretty sick! But actually, I think it just means inordinate amounts of clay. 

Be that as it may, this type of soil was formed over thousands of years due to heavy rains leaching many of the nutrients from the soil and the warmer climate stops the natural accumulation of wood particles and other plant matter in the soil.

As a result, you have poorly draining and nutrient-depleted soil in which to grow the garden. Something that I started last year, and plan to do this year is “chop and drop.” Chop and drop literally means chopping up last year’s garden leftovers and dropping them on your garden’s soil. 

BUT WHY?

You may ask, “But why?” Well as the plant matter decomposes it breaks down into smaller and smaller particles first providing water retention, then macronutrients that plants and organisms can absorb. The larger particles enhance aeration which is necessary to exchange nutrients with the soil and microorganisms.

Mulching further adds to the positive benefit of chop ‘n drop and will do things such as keep the roots cooler and prevent evaporation which will keep the proper moisture level. Additionally, the organic matter in your soil will prevent compaction as it is walked on, or otherwise managed for gardening purposes.

The last thing is to ensure you are regularly amending your soil with compost. This will control erosion and keep PH levels to an optimum ratio and add organic matter kind of encapsulating all of the previous steps.

Of course, the tenet of any good gardening plan is to adapt as needed to overcome any difficulties or shortcomings of your current plan. 

Lastly, healthy soil encourages biodiversity.

This includes the soil itself, but also insect species, plant life, etc… Everything that makes our world what it is, can be attributed to soil in some way. Keeping the natural balance is key to a long-lived and healthy planet. Setting this biodiversity back up is not only going to improve our natural balance, but it will conserve populations of plant and animal species for years to come in the process.

Trapping carbon, growing more food, and increasing biodiversity is the cornerstone of a healthy Earth. This is why these practices can improve your personal garden, and increase the overall health of our World… AND make your vegetables taste much more delicious.

Sources: https://durham.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/04/making-the-most-of-your-gardens-soil/