Improve garden soil
Soil life
Soil is alive. It is home to countless microorganisms and small animals that make it fertile. They ensure that new life can grow again from dead plants. The aim of soil improvement should therefore always be to promote soil life.
Heavy soils = loam & clay soils
Heavy soils consist of very small soil particles and therefore only contain fine soil pores. This has the advantage that water and nutrients can be stored well. However, the roots of your vegetable plants can only spread with difficulty in this dense soil. The soil also becomes rock-hard in dry conditions.
Loosening the soil: how to do it
- Mix in coarser particles (e.g. mature compost or sand)
- Sow green manure (e.g. lupins, phacelia)
- Mulch your soil to protect it and attract earthworms
Light soils = sandy soils
Light soils have coarser soil particles and therefore larger cavities that are easier for plants to root through. However, water seeps through the large soil pores very quickly and they are not very capable of storing water.
Improving floor storage: here's how
- Work organic material into the soil (e.g. mature compost or rotted manure)
- Sow green manure
- Mix in loam or rock flour
- Permanent mulch layer
- Use poorly soluble fertilizer (e.g. mature compost, horn meal, horn shavings, bone meal, wood ash or manure)
