How to Maintain Organic Soil Fertility
Plants grown in soil maintained under an organic system receive benefits from delicate microorganisms that are easily disrupted through the use of chemical fertilizers and soil improvers. Healthy organic soil is full of life, from tiny bacteria and fungi to worms and beetles. Using chemicals to encourage plant growth and health can kill beneficial soil microorganisms and insects.
Organic gardeners use several practical techniques to maintain and improve their soil's fertility and structure, including soil improvements, good plant care and crop rotation and cover cropping.
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Things You'll Need
- Compost
- Organic fertilizers
- Hay
- Animal manures
- Native shredded bark or natural mulch
- Cover crops
Instructions
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Soil Improvements
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Compost kitchen and garden waste along with green and woody prunings to create a medium fertility organic soil improver, as advised by the Henry Doubleday Research Association's "Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening."
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Dig compost into planting rows or spread around the base of trees or over lawns to add nutrients and feed microorganisms.
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Add high fertility organic soil improvers, such as worm compost and animal manures, to soil as mulches or dig them into the soil. Medium fertility improvers include hay and mushroom compost and can be added in the same ways.
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Avoid walking on cultivated areas in your garden. Work from paths or walk on boards to spread your weight. Soils are easily compacted, making it difficult for air, water and fertilizers to reach beneficial microorganisms and plant root systems.
Good Plant Care
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Use organic fertilizers on your soil, which are derived from plant or animal remains and release their nutrients more slowly, according to the Royal Horticultural Society's "Essential Gardening Techniques."
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Use bone meal, rock phosphate and fish blood and bone to add phosphate to soil. Dried blood and ground hoof and horn are good sources of nitrogen, while wood ash and seaweed meal add potash to soil.
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Mulch all bare soil with compost and native shredded bark to protect soil from the compacting effects of rain, help soil retain moisture and suppress weeds. Compost will leach minerals and nutrients into the soil and provide a food source for microorganisms. Shredded bark will decompose over time, adding bulk and nutrients to the soil.
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Clean away diseased plant material and burn or take to the landfill to help keep diseases out of the soil.
Crop Rotation and Cover Cropping
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Grow related vegetables together in different parts of the garden in consecutive years. Three or four years is usually the minimum recommended for crop rotation, according to the "Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening." Plants from the same family have similar nutritional and soil treatment needs, pest weaknesses and abilities to alter the soil structure.
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Plant cover crops or green manure crops such as clover or rye to fix nitrogen in the soil. The University of North Carolina says the absence of nitrogen in the soil frequently limits crop production and recommends the use of ground covers to remedy the problem. Some cover crops have strong, deep root systems that can penetrate hard ground, breaking it apart to access buried nutrients.
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Cut down cover crops and allow to decompose or dig it into the garden to add structure and nutrients to the soil.
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