THE SECRET TO LUSH-GREEN YARDS AND GARDENS
You may have walked past your neighbor’s house, seen their lawn and wondered how in the world they keep it so green. You do your best to water and fertilize, but it doesn’t come out the same.
It is easy to focus on the things that you are growing, and it is important to pay attention to these plants. However, your plants are communicating their health and the soil’s health. By making the soil your priority, you are setting yourself up for success in the long run. Healthy soil results in healthy plants. Here are three ways to improve your soil that will have your neighbors stopping to admire your yard year after year.
KEEP SOIL COVERED
Soil is a mixture of organic materials, air, water, and minerals. Because soil holds nutrients and water that feed plants, it is very important that it remains covered and is not exposed to the weather. Exposure causes nutrients to be lost in the atmosphere. By covering your soil, not only are you storing healthy nutrients for your plants to thrive, but your plants are also restoring the environment by soaking up carbon pollution that we emit.
Here are four types of covering that are great for increasing soil health and nutrient density:
- Cover crops like clover, peas, and winter rye are great for adding rich nutrients into the soil before your next planting season.
- Grasses will enhance soil structure by making clay soil more porous and also slow down water from washing soil away.
REDUCE TILLING
Buying a rototiller to tear up that space you’re wanting to grow tomatoes in may sound like a powerfully cool investment, but tilling does more harm than good. Tilling breaks up your backyard and destroys the soil’s structure. Organic matter is lost as a result, and organisms that help your soil lose their habitat. As the earth is loosened and torn up over and over, erosion becomes a real threat.
Instead of tilling your soil:
- Aerating your yard allows airflow into the ground without compromising the soil structure’s integrity. Aeration makes small holes in compact ground, which allows plants access to air, water, and nutrients for more vigorous growth.
- To remove an area of grass, cover it with dampened cardboard or newspaper. Add compost or mulch right on top, and as the cardboard or newspaper smothers and kills the grass underneath, it will break down, and you can plant in that new area.
- Worms are great friends of garden beds and allies to your soil. They digest and break down dead or decomposing matter and make nutrients more available. Worms also enhance drainage without disturbing the soil’s structure.
APPLY ORGANIC MATTER
In nature, the living feed on the dead. It is natural to remove cow manure or rotting leaves from your yard because it doesn’t look or smell the prettiest. While it is understandable not having a cow walking around and pooping all over the yard, there are alternative options for adding organic matter to your soil:
Composting is the process of taking dead or decomposing matter and allowing it to break down until it is ready to be added to the soil. One method is to collect kitchen scraps such as eggshells, coffee grounds, leftover fruit and vegetables and regularly mix them in with leaves, grass cuttings, manure, paper products, and dirt. As you turn this mixture and keep it damp, it breaks down with the help of organisms. Compost strengthens soil and reduces waste and the need for chemical fertilizers.
Fertilizers are beneficial because sometimes the soil is lower in nutrients than what the plants need. Adding fertilizer can help give a nutrient boost to replenish the soil. Synthetic fertilizers focus on feeding the plant, while organic fertilizers tend to focus on feeding the soil, which then feeds the plant.
