Soil Basics - Creating Fertile, Healthy Soil
By Francis Kilkelly, Fri Dec 9th
Have you ever looked at the soil in your garden and consideredit as anything more than soil? If not you should because thereis a lot more there than meets the eye. It performs manyfunctions that you may not be aware of and having good qualitysoil in your garden is essential for your plants. In thisarticle we will look at the functions of soil, what differenttypes there are and finally some ways to make it healthier.
Functions of Soil
The most immediately apparent function of soil is a medium tosupport plant life. It provides support both physically andbiologically. Physical support is provided by allowing the plantto grow its roots through the soil to hold itself in place.Biological support is provided by its ability to hold nutrientsand water that the plant needs. It also supports other types oflife as well. Microorganisms and insects live in the soil andthey in turn aid plant life by helping to decay organic materialand adding structure to the soil. Soil allows the growth of foodcrops which are consumed by humans and also plants used in thecreation of medicines. Microorganisms like fungi and bacteriathat live in soil and are used to produce antibiotics. All lifeon earth is dependant on it either directly and indirectly. Thisincludes the plant life in your garden.
What is Soil Made of?
The four major components of soil are mineral matter, organicmatter (humus), water and air. Mineral matter refers to theinorganic elements in the soil e.g. stones, gravel and makes upto 40%-60% of its volume. This part of the soil usuallyoriginates from the bedrock that lies beneath the soil. Organicmatter (humus) is the decayed remains and waste products ofplants and animals and has a great effect on the chemicalproperties of the soil e.g. availability of nutrients. Almost40%-60% of a soil's volume can be space and this is occupied bywater and air.
Different Types of Soil Texture
Soil texture is defined as the size distribution of differentmineral particles. These mineral particles are at their mostbasic level the following: sand, silt and clay. Sand particlesare 2 to 0.05 mm diameter, silt particles are 0.05 to 0.002 mmdiameter and clay particles are less than 0.002 mm diameter.Combination of these particles exhibit different properties insoil and some combinations favour plant life better than others.The following are the most common classes of soil texture:
Clay soil Contains a high percentage of clay particles and feelslumpy to the touch. The small size of the clay particles meansthat they clump together quite readily and there is less roomfor air spaces. Consequently clay soils have poor drainage anddo not hold nutrients very well. This is a heavy soil and issticky when wet making it hard to work with. As much as possibleyou should take steps to improve the drainage of this type ofsoil. You will learn how later on in this article.
Silty soil Contains a high percentage of silt particles andfeels smooth to the touch. This soil is a well drained soil dueto the size of the particles allowing space for water topermeate. This soil holds nutrients more readily than clay soildue to the spaces. It is easy to cultivate but can be compactedquite easily.
Sandy soil Contains a high percentage of sand particles andfeels gritty to the touch, Allows for quite a lot of space inbetween particles and as a result is very free draining. Thishas its disadvantages however as it does not hold water andessential nutrients can get washed away.
Loamy soil This is the best type of soil texture you can have inyour garden. This is soil whose properties are controlledequally by the percentages of clay, silt and sand particles. Itis well drained but does not loose water too easily as is thecase with sandy and sometimes silty soils. The fact that itretains water means it also retains nutrients for your plants touse. It has a great structure and is easy to cultivate.
What Makes a Soil Healthy? Healthy soil must be fertile and havea good structure.
For a soil to be fertile it must have nutrients readilyavailable and a pH value at a recommended level for the plantsthat will reside in it. Nutrients that should be available arethe essential nutrients nitrogen (leaf growth), phosphorous(root growth) and phosphorous (overall health). As well as theessential nutrients there should also be
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