How to Create the Healthiest Soil

This is the season for gardening and amending your soil to make it the healthiest soil you can.  Having healthy soil is imperative to healthy and productive plants. Although if you have just started a garden or you just don’t know what should be in your soil, then learning how to create the healthiest soil will do you (and your plants) a lot of good. Different plants require different compositions of soil for proper growth so these tips will be the most basic, versatile tips for soil that almost anything can grow in. Let’s get started!

Composting

Adding compost or broken down organic matter is very important for plant life. A great form of compost is decomposing leaves, grass clippings, even eggshells and coffee grounds. These break down over time as they decompose and provide nutrients that help plants flourish. Healthy soil needs compost kind of like the key to a lock. Compost can even be purchased in the form of manure or powdered form.

Mulch

Plants roots do not like to be warm or cold.  Using mulch like bark or even rubber mulch will help to keep the soil at a temperature that is comfortable for the plants’ root systems. Mulch will also help to keep the top-most layers of soil moist. Along with keeping the soil cool, the soil also needs drainage. After a few inches of soil, a layer of sand or rocks is great to make sure that the root systems don’t stay perpetually soaked.

Minerals

Another huge important ingredient for healthy soil is minerals. Just like composting, having the proper minerals in your soil will determine whether your plants flourish or wilt, wither, and die. You can pick up rock powder from most supply stores. Mix up the rock powder with your soil before planting. If rock powder is unavailable use whole rocks. The water run-off will slowly pull minerals off of the rock and into the soil.  Azomite soil additive is a product that is also very helpful.

Whether you are just starting your garden or you have an acre of produce, having healthy soil is key to the health of the plants. Learning how to create the healthiest soil is pretty simple for a broad range of plants.   There are tools to monitor your soil pH level and soil composition. But to get the most healthy soil you will need to work from the ground down by adding compost, minerals, and mulch.

What do you do for your soil to keep it nice and healthy?