Improving Soil
Structure
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The key for any good land management, whether
gardening or farming is to keep the soil in good condition.
This can include: Improving
drainage, either by breaking up the subsoil to allow water to drain away or by
adding grit to the soil to 'open' it up. Adjusting soil pH or 'acid' levels of
the soil. This is more important for certain plants. Most plants are quite
tolerant of pH levels, unless your soil is very acid or very alkaline you won't
have to worry too much. Generally acidic soils are more problematic than
alkaline soils, to raise the pH of acid soils you can apply lime or calcified
seaweed.
Improving soil fertility is the
key to good soil management. Fertile soil will make gardening a pleasure,
plants will flourish and be more resistant to pest and disease attack, worms
and natural soil organisms will help to make the soil easier to work and
improve drainage naturally. Soil fertility can be improved by adding regular
amounts of organic matter. Generally using any material that was once living or
comes from something living will help to improve soil fertility. Such materials
can include:
• All animal
manures.
• Any plant material. (Avoid diseased
material)
• Straw.
• Paper.
• Vegetable
waste.
• Wood shavings/sawdust or chips.
• Any other
natural material that will decompose.
• Green manure crops.
All
soils will benefit from the addition of organic material. However you must be
aware that all these materials must be fully composted before being added to
your soil. If you can, try and obtain these materials already composted. If
this is not possible make your own compost heap. If really necessary you can
add these materials 'raw' but the effects wont be so good. All these materials
will improve the soil structure but will add very few nutrients to the soil.
You will still need to use fertiliser in most cases. An ideal fertiliser to use
to help improve soil structure and add nutrients is poultry manure. Poultry
manure is concentrated so you only need to use handfuls not wheelbarrow
loads.
Common Soil
Problems
Drainage
Water logging is a serious problem to
gardeners, in extreme cases plants can drown if their roots are always water
logged. More common a problem is wet areas that make gardening difficult,
particularly affecting clay soils. Drainage can be improved by installing a
network of pipes under the soil to carry excess water away, this is a very
expensive solution only necessary in extreme circumstances. In most cases
improvement can be made by breaking up the subsoil by deep digging, forking the
ground to make drainage holes or adding coarse sand to open up the soil. Adding
organic matter will also help to open up the soil and encourage worms to make
natural drainage channels.
Compaction
Plants
will find it very difficult to push their roots through hard compacted soil,
and water will be slower to drain away. Break up the compaction with a fork and
add grit or bulky material to open up the soil. Avoid compaction by keeping off
the soil whilst it is wet and use planks to walk on to spread your
weight.
Dryness
Dry areas
of soil are usually found under large trees which draw the moisture out of the
ground. In this situation there is not much you can do other than cutting down
the tree. Light sandy soils also tend to dry out, adding organic matter will
act as a sponge, storing water and nutrients until it is needed.
Poor Growth
This
could be caused by a number of problems, adding organic matter will help.
Acid Soil
Certain plants will tolerate
acidic soils but most prefer a neutral soil. You can buy a test kit to measure
the pH levels of your soil. A pH of 7.5 is regarded as neutral, lower levels
are acid and higher is alkaline. Acid soils can be corrected by adding lime or
better calcified seaweed which also adds valuable nutrients and minerals to the
soil.
Heavy Clay
Clay
soil is often difficult to work with, particularly if it is a really heavy blue
clay type. Generous applications of organic material and coarse grit will
improve it. There is a chemical process known as 'flocculation' that can be
triggered by applying lime to the soil. This chemical reaction binds the small
clay particles together into larger crumbs thus improving the soil structure.
Cropping with potatoes is a good treatment for heavy soils, the action of
earthing up and digging out the potatoes helps break the soil down.
Cold Wet Soil
A
cold, wet winter can make soils unworkable in early spring, to avoid this try
not to leave the vegetable patch empty through the winter. Try planting a cover
crop or green manure such as mustard. This green manure will use moisture in
the ground and the roots will break the soil down. Another useful method is to
use plastic sheeting to cover the soil, keeping it dry and allowing it to warm
up. Black plastic will also smother weeds and attract the suns warmth more than
clear plastic.
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