5 Expert Tips for Keeping Your Soil Rich & Garden Crops Abundant
Rich SOil & Abundant Crops
Gardening season is in full swing! Perhaps you are getting ready to drop some new plant starts into your existing garden beds. Before you do, read on to discover five pro tips to help your garden reach its fullest potential.
We have long been told that fertilizer is the answer to our garden woes. When we use NPK fertilizers, we disrupt the natural processes of the plant and soil by creating a self-perpetuating cycle of chemical dependency. However, growing evidence demonstrates that plants already have well-developed relationships with soil microorganisms who bring them the nutrients they need. When it comes to increasing plant nutrient availability, boosting soil biodiversity is the key.
Grow a biodiverse garden
Growing different vegetable varieties together can actually increase the overall health of your garden. A long-term study has shown that environments become more effective and more resilient if at least four species from four families (16 or more plants) are grown together. When plants from at least four families grow together, soil microbe diversity is supported, which in turn supports your plants!
Another form of high-diversity gardening is referred to as companion planting, whereby different species are planted in close proximity to maximize space, as well as deter or encourage insects, depending on the insect and role it plays in the garden. Different vegetable families include roots and tubers (potatoes, carrots, beets, radishes etc), brassicas (broccoli, kale, cabbage etc), bulbs such as onions, leeks and garlic; legumes (beans, peas) and salad leaves (arugula, lettuce, spinach).
Grow some cover crops
Cover crops are plants selected to accomplish specific functions. Cover crops keep the soil covered and held in place, keeping the soil cool and moist, and can deposit organic nutrients and organic matter into the soils. Ideally, we gardeners should be feeding our soil and the life within it; and that's what feeds our plants. By growing cover crops and terminating them at the right time, we accomplish exactly that!
Grow a rotating garden
One fast way of depleting our soil of key macro and micro nutrients, is simply growing the same crop in the same spot annually, without growing cover crops and/or a biodiverse garden. Try growing different varieties of crop in ordered succession (with brassicas following legumes, following potatoes and so forth); you are likely to eliminate many garden troubles, such as pest pressure and nutrient scarcity. Just be sure to allow more space for your bigger, hungrier plants.d.
Grow using Organic Compost
The important difference between compost and fertilizer goes back to our previous point; compost feeds the soil organic matter and bioavailable nutrients over an extended period of time, whereas fertilizer is simply a quick boost that feeds the plants without improving the soil. There are numerous ways to create compost. If you haven't done so already, start a pile now for home-made compost to feed your vegetable patch next fall. Making your own does require some management; it’s important to keep your compost bin’s carbon to nitrogen ratio balanced in order for the nutrients to be available to the microbes and your plants.
Grow using Organic Fertilizer
Many organic sources for fertilizer exist, so if you do choose to feed your garden, stick to amendments where ingredients are listed and are in original form (bone meal is ground bones, blood meal is boiled/dried blood). Many organic amendments serve as both soil conditioner and fertilizer. Just like us, plants need a variety of nutrients to perform their best. These compounds can be classified as one of three types: Primary nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium), secondary nutrients (sulfur, calcium and magnesium) and trace or micronutrients. It’s easy to overdo the application of fertilizer; synthetic fertilizer can cause plants to take up too much too quickly, resulting in fertilizer "burn". Using naturally sources fertilizer is far safer, due to some of the nutrients being ‘locked’ up in the source material. This provides a slow gentle release of nutrients over time, and is more forgiving. Natural fertilizers include comfrey tea (easy to make yourself), seaweed, bone meal, blood meal, animal manures and oyster shell flour, just to name a few. The only way to know for sure what nutrients your soil needs, is to have a soil test done. Check with your local extension office for assistance in interpreting you soil test, as well as what amendments would best suit your needs.
