A he althy soil is the basis for good growth and a rich harvest. From time to time you should therefore take measures to improve the quality of your soil. The top soil improvement tips are below.
Your garden soil is not fertile? Surely you have already received a variety of tips: Lime and quartz sand, charcoal, clay and special plants should improve the soil. But which garden soil is improved and how? We give you an overview of good soil conditioners and explain what really helps which soil.
How to improve your garden soil
If you want to improve garden soil that is too heavy, light, nutrient-poor or compacted with specific measures, you are aiming for soil fertility. A fertile soil hosts an active soil life that performs the aggregation of soil crumbs, decomposes organic matter, releases nutrients and most importantly: builds humus! Humus is the prerequisite for he althy, intact soil life and thus also the prerequisite for soil fertility. We have created a special article for you on the topic of humus management, in which we show how humus can be enriched in the soil. For a quick overview, here are some measures you can use to make your soil fertile in the long term.
1. Bring in the hummus
The quickest way to get fertile garden soil is to buy hummus and spread it around the garden. If the purchase of high-quality topsoil or mature compost is too expensive for you, high-quality potting soil such as our Plantura organic soils offer a sensible alternative.
2. Build and maintain hummusWith proper humus management, you can accumulate humus in your soil. The humus economy takes into account the pH value of the soil, the soil temperature, tillage and the supply of nutrients to the soil in order to bring humus decomposition and humus formation into the desired balance. It relies on the incorporation of organic material such as mulch, organic fertilizers, plant debris and horse manure. Also our Plantura organic fertilizer and especially thePlantura soil activator ensures, among other things, that the mycorrhiza fungi it contains increase the humus content in the soil.
3. Eliminate compressions
Compaction in the soil inhibits plant growth in many ways: On the one hand, the fine roots have to overcome a high level of resistance during growth, which means that the entire root system remains flat and is susceptible to drought. On the other hand, a lack of oxygen can quickly occur on compacted soils - especially after rainfall, when the water can hardly drain away. Compaction can be removed mechanically, for example by deep digging, raking or milling. Deep-rooted green manure helps with deeper compaction, which we will come back to later.
Depending on the underlying rock type, soils are more or less acidic or alkaline. Although humus accumulates in acidic soil, nutrients are released poorly or are unavailable to plants. Hardly any humus is built up on alkaline soils and other nutrients cannot be absorbed by plants. Too high pH values can be corrected with bark humus, too low can be adjusted with lime. A suitable pH for most plants is between 5.5 and 7.0.
5. Mineral Soil Improvement
In addition to organic substances, mineral substances can also be used to improve the soil. We have listed the most important ones for you:
Sand: Sand is one of the coarsest grain sizes in soil. It can be incorporated into very clayey soils to improve root permeability and aeration. In addition, yellow sand brings iron compounds with it, which plants can use as trace nutrients. Up to 50 liters of sand per square meter can be necessary for very heavy soils.
Uses: heavy, clayey soils.
Lime: Soil liming serves to increase the soil pH value. Calcium carbonate is a slow-acting lime that should only be used on sandy soils. From heavy loam and clay soils, only quicklime, which acts faster, has the desired effect. Incidentally, fertilizing with ash or fertilizing with egg shells can also adjust the desired pH value.
Benefits: too acidic soil.
Clay minerals: Clay is the finest grain size in soil. The tiny clay minerals have a very largesurface and store water and nutrients. Although they cannot do this as well as hummus, they are not broken down by microorganisms. For example, clay can be easily spread in the form of granulated bentonite. Sandy soils benefit the most from clay as it improves their water holding and nutrient holding capacity.
Benefits: sandy soils.
Biochar: A fairly new soil conditioner is biochar. It consists of charred, i.e. incompletely burned, organic substances such as wood. In this state one also speaks of pyrogenic carbon (from ancient Greek pyr=fire and Latin generare=to generate). This carbon can serve as a starting point for further humus build-up. Spreading biochar is therefore a good measure for very humus-poor soils that are to be improved with organic fertilizers, mulch or manure.
Benefits: humus-poor soils.
Foundry rock: Foundry rock consists of finely ground rock. Commercially available are acidic bas alt or alkaline diabase. They change the soil pH value and also provide long-term nutrients and micronutrients. They are particularly useful on predominantly organic, boggy soils. However, the release of nutrients depends heavily on active soil life and begins after a year at the earliest - and then continues for several years.
Benefits: nutrient-poor forest soils, boggy soils.
Mineral fertiliser: Mineral fertiliser, as the name suggests, is purely mineral, but it cannot really be described as a soil improver. It increases the fertility of a soil for a short time by providing nutrients for plants, but mineral fertilization alone leads to humus degradation and thus reduces soil fertility in the long term.
Tip: Because the starting materials of organic fertilizers are often low in essential potassium, some mineral potassium is added to them. Some of our Plantura organic fertilizers also contain a minimal proportion of mineral nutrient s alts. But because the lion's share is purely organic, this small mineral content does not damage the soil either, rather plants can grow he althier - which also benefits the soil.
OnePlanting is a promise of salvation for any type of soil. As a rule of thumb, the floor should never be simply bare. In order to improve the soil before the actual planting, special green manure plants are used. They root and loosen the soil, stimulate soil life, release nutrients, contribute to crumbling and protect against erosion and drought. They also suppress weeds. Introducing a few green manure plants that will increase your soil fertility.
| Non-hardy green manure plants (sowing March - September, incorporating in the same year) | |
| Peas (Pisum) | Introduce nitrogen into the soil; don't plant peas and beans again afterwards |
| Lupins (Lupinus) | Introduce a lot of nitrogen into the soil; deep loosening of the soil; lots of green mass |
| Tages (Tags) | Suitable for controlling nematodes; ornamental |
| Winter-hardy green manure plants (sowing in September at the latest, working in the following year) | |
| Bee Friend (Phacelia) | Fast growing; insensitive to drought; Bee pasture |
| Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) | nitrogen collector; deep loosening of the soil; insensitive to drought |
| Winter rye (Secale cereale) | Soil well rooted; very hardy; Competitor to couch grass |
Tip: Many green manure plants are legumes (nitrogen collectors). They live in symbiosis with root bacteria, which use a special enzyme complex to fix nitrogen from the air and pass it on to the plant. When the green manure plant is incorporated, it fertilizes the soil with nitrogen. Examples of legumes include peas and lupins.
7. Diverse crop rotation and mixed crops
Peas should not follow peas, and garlic and carrots make good bed neighbors. There is a lot of truth in these ancient wisdoms. If you plant related species too often on the same piece of soil, you will eventually be confronted with ailing plants and low yields. In our detailed special articles on the topics of intercropping, crop rotation and planting planning for vegetables you will find all the important information on how to keep your soil he althy despite changing plantings.
Conclusion: How does soil improvement work in theGarden?
The key element in improving any garden soil is humus. Because humus is the best and most natural soil conditioner you can get! You also support a vital and he althy soil by doing without unnecessary chemicals in the garden. That's why we at Plantura rely primarily on organic fertilizers, peat-reduced potting soil and pesticides that are gentle on beneficial insects, which we offer in our Plantura Shop.