Vegetable Garden

Three Ways to Protect Garden Soil

December 5, 2014

Three ways to look after garden soil

How to Look After Garden Soil

Muck, dirt, clay, mud – all words I’ve heard people use to describe garden soil yet it’s such a valuable resource it deserves so much more. It’s easy to take soil for granted yet soil is a substance that provides us with all our basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing.

It takes *between a 100 and a 1,000 years to form just one centimeter of soil yet our lack of understanding or knowledge about soil management can help to destroy that centimeter of soil within 1 to 10 years. That’s quite startling given that most of the things we depend upon start their life in this incredible substance.

Therefore, in no particular order, I’ve listed three basic soil requirements that will help you to protect your garden soil, so that it keeps giving its best in the future. There’s also a link at the end of this post to People for Soil, who are looking for signatures to help give soil a voice by asking the EU for specific regulations.

How to Look After Garden Soil1. Add organic matter to your soil.

Adding organic matter to garden soil not only helps to add nourishment to it and increase plant health, it also benefits soil structure and texture which will  prevent soil erosion and aid drainage, helping to prevent vital nutrients washing away. Organic matter is decaying animal or plant material and can consist of homemade compost, well-rotted animal manure, leafmould or green manures.

If you’re not already doing so, and if you have the space, start composting or collecting leaves now to make compost. Here’s a link to a PDF which gives more information about composting. Compost is free and a fantastic alternative or addition to well-rotted animal manures if you’re not sure where to source them.

Just a note, avoid working the soil if it’s wet or frozen as this can damage soil structure too.

How to look after garden soil

Green Manure ~ Rye

2. Keep soil covered.

At last, a great reason NOT to be TOO TIDY in the garden.

Plant roots such as those on weeds and green manures help to protect soil structure and the fungal interactions that occur between plants and soil will help to nourish it. So don’t stress if you didn’t weed the garden before the onset of winter, you can now rest easy with the knowledge that those little weed roots are protecting your garden soil.

3. Reduce or preferably stop using artificial chemicals and fertilisers on soil

Or better still, switch to organic gardening methods.

Research is ongoing about the effects of artificial chemicals on soil health so far better to err on the side of caution until we know more.

If you’re not sure, don’t add it. Stick to more natural fertilisers such as compost, seaweed, plant or animal based fertlisers until you’re more informed, and don’t forget to practice good Crop Rotation practices.

Symphony of the Soil from Lily Films on Vimeo.

If you haven’t seen it yet, keep an eye out for a screening of Symphony of the Soil, a documentary film that shares the beauty and importance of soil. I have a licensed copy of the film so if you’d like to screen it in Ireland, contact me for more information. It might make you view soil in a completely new light.

Meanwhile, why not pop over to People 4 Soil and sign the petition to give soil a voice. People 4 Soil are a free and open network of European NGO’s, research institutes, farmers, associations and environmental groups. The proposal for a Soil Framework Directive was withdrawn in May 2014 after it ran into a minority that blocked it for eight years. The current EU policies are not able to to offer soil adequate protection. We’re hoping to change that.

Source: * http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/information-resources

1 Comment

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