Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
22
Starting with the Soil
Though this topic is about composting, compost is intended to
conserve or augment the soil in your garden. As the nutrient
cycle starts with your garden soil, and any nutrients conserved
through composting started out in the soil of your garden, a
comprehensive examination of your soil and the ways it
might be improved is a good place to start.
As a gardener you want soil that will hold adequate moisture
without becoming so waterlogged as to exclude oxygen from
the roots. You also want soil rich in organic matter that will
hold nutrients and release them to the roots as needed. Soil
should also be within the ideal pH range of most plants you'll
grow, and your soil should have adequate levels of the
nutrients plants need most, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium. Ideally, you want soil that doesn't crust over so
seeds can sprout. Finally, you want soil with a broad spectrum
of micro-nutrients both for the optimum health of the plants
and the health of those who eat them.
In practice, few gardeners start with such ideal soil. Soil
either has too much sand, too much clay, too high or low a
pH, or lacks fundamental nutrients including nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium. To say that the soil most
homeowners have to work with is less than ideal would be an
understatement, considering that in many cases their yards are
composed of sand and filled with only enough loam to start
grass. Just under the grass mat what passes for soil looks
awfully sterile. How do you start the rehabilitation process?
