When I was just discovering my passion for growing things,
one of our neighbors, an experienced gardener, gave me the best soil
tutorial. On one of her walks, she
noticed as I struggled to deal with weeds in my drought stricken yard. She stopped to chat and casually mentioned
that I really needed to work on the tilth of my soil. When I asked what that meant, she kindly
invited me to check out her garden – it would be better to see and feel what
she meant.
When she poured some of her soil in my hand it was clear
that what I saw, felt, and smelled was very different from the dirt that I was
dealing with. I had an immediate and
visceral reaction to the wonderful musky richness. The soil was soft and darkly colored and it
felt good – plump, moist, lively – not thin, grainy and dry like the stuff I
was dealing with. She told me that this
was my goal in the garden - create soil that was dark brownish-black and
smelled good, clean and earthy and held together but did not clump or fall
through my fingers when moist.
How to accomplish this?
Her message was simple –back off the chemical fertilizers, feed the soil
by adding organic matter and she promised that over time my soil would become
like hers and I would have no weeds.
Really? No weeds??? I was a skeptic at first but over time I have
learned that if I cultivate healthy soil and I make sure to water and fertilize
properly* – weeds are unlikely to grow in such a healthy soil environment.
In the ensuing decades (yes decades), I’ve learned that most
of us don’t inherit or buy a piece of land with great soil, the fact of the
matter is that we need to improve the soil with every growing season. Our best friend in the garden is soil that is
rich in micro-nutrients, has enough macro-nutrients to support what we are
growing, and has abundant microbial life.
Good soil encourages:
- The break down of organic matter.
- Microbial life that develops good soil structure.
- Fights pathogens that would harm plants and
- Transforms minerals so they can be better used by plants.
*Watering and fertilizing properly are dependent upon many
factors – soil, temperature, humidity, wind, and the type and health of the plants
you grow. It is important to know how
all of these factors influence your garden’s needs. Responding appropriately is a lot easier with
knowledge. Just remember “The Three
Bears” – not too much, not too little, just the right amount of water and
fertilizer are very good things!
