Many people worry about feeding the different individual plants in their garden, often purchasing expensive separate products to meet the need of each plant. However, opting to feed the soil that they are planted in, as opposed to the actual plants themselves means that can provide a wide range of nutrients at the same time, benefiting multiple plants. Also, ensuring that your soil is well looked after can be a cheaper option because natural, homemade resources will do the job effectively. If you are unsure of how to effectively care for the soil in your garden, this guide could help!
Compost
Regularly adding compost to your soil will ensure that it is kept topped up with vital nutrients that it can, in turn, provide to your plants. Composts can be bought, but it is equally easy to make at home in a composter . Simply shred all dead leaves, fruit and vegetable kitchen waste, clippings from non-treated lawns, and other organic matter, and leave to rot down making nutrient rich compost. This compost should then be turned into the soil with a garden fork regularly.
Manure
Manure, though mildly unpleasant, is fantastic for feeding your soil because it is so rich in nitrogen. Nitrogen is one of the essential nutrients that encourages plant growth, development and reproduction as it is vital for the process of photosynthesis to take place. Ensuring that your soil is rich in this means that you don’t have to worry about topping up each individual plant with a nitrogen-based feed.
Mulch
Mulching your soil will help to conserve moisture in your soil, which is important during the winter months when harsh winds could dry it out, and will also help to reduce the number of weeds in your soil, which could be robbing essential nutrients from other plants that you want in your garden. Bark makes a great mulching material, as is straw, leaves and leaf mould. If you have pets that are free to roam the garden, you should check before mulching you aren’t using a material that’s dangerous for them.
Turn the Soil
Turning soil with a garden fork is a fantastic, and completely free, way of preventing it from becoming compacted as ensures that there is a plentiful supply of oxygen within the soil to promote healthy plants growth. You should avoid turning this soil unless it is dry enough to crumble in your hand, however. Turning soil that is damp may be counterproductive as it could encourage compaction, meaning air and water can’t move freely throughout it.
Keep Off the Soil
This may sound simple and straightforward, but you might be surprised with regards to how important it is to prevent people from walking on the soil, even when tending to plants in the borders and plots. The pressure of walking on the soil compacts it, meaning that any nutrients within the soil can’t be transported to plants. To get around this problem, you should make plots and borders narrow enough to lean over to work with.
Providing that you follow these tips to take care of your soil, you will need to do very little to care for the plants that you put in that soil.
