Soil Care

So now you know what a soil is and how to work out its type, but what else is there to find out? Well of course, there is a lot more to find out about soils, but the topic that may interest you the most is how and why to look after your soil.

You or your parents may own a garden; in fact you may even do some gardening. But it is not just farmers that alter the soil in order to allow something to grow better. We have seen that a soil consists of three components sand, clay and silt. If your soil is poor, try adding what's missing. In clay soils adding sand will often help, while in sandy soils adding clay may be the answer. Many people often add peat to their soils to improve the nutrients available to the plants. However this is not a good idea as peat takes a long time to form and needs specific conditions, as a result the peat bog ecosystem is rare. This means that by digging it up and spreading it on our gardens we are damaging the ecosystem. My advice is try chemical fertilisers such as "Growmore". But be careful! Adding a fertiliser can cause damage if you add too much.

Other problems exist such as soils that are too acidic. This is often caused by coniferous plants growing; these alter the pH of the soil so that other less tolerant deciduous plants cannot grow. The solution is to add Lime to the soil, this acts as a buffer and neutralises the soil.

But remember not everything grows in every soil type, so the type of soil you want depends on the plants you intend to grow!

But the most important thing to remember is that soil takes time to develop, and although you can buy it at any garden centre, it is worth looking after what you have. Try to avoid exposing your soil to the air without any plants, walls or defences, as the soil will be eroded quickly by rain and wind. This is the mistake made by big corporate companies in the tropical rainforests and small time farmers in the Sahel. The one small mistake may take years to correct!

Please continue to look around the site! Other related topics include: Ecological Succession and some of the Biomes.