Soil Health = Plant Health
Well finished, biologically active compost is the most effective thing you can do to increase soil fertility in your garden. Healthy soil is the key to healthy plants, and good compost is the first and most important step to maintaining excellent garden soil year to year.
Compost Happens
Like many other natural biological processes, compost generally happens on its own. Without micro-managing it, some shredded newspaper, kitchen scraps, and grass clippings mixed together will produce that holy grail of gardening, the famed "black gold" soil type. Ratios and proper moisture levels may help the process happen faster, but it will still happen given enough time.
What's In There?
Amongst many nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium, and carbon, there are also beneficial micro-organisms. These creatures are what help to break down unusable elements into forms that plant roots can uptake, and are themselves food for larger organisms such as earthworms, which help the decomposition process as well.
A Living System
Unlike modern big-agro companies would have you think, soil can become a rather self-sustaining resource. It's true that plants take nutrients from the soil, but cover crops can replenish the soil too. In fact, in undisturbed natural environments, foliar cover changes from season to season as necessary, cycling the process of decomposition and revitalization all by itself. Native micro and macro organisms contribute to this process as well, diversifying the ecology of a region and maximizing potential for all involved.
Podgardening.co.nz - short videos packed with tons of good advice about soil and compost
No comments:
Post a Comment