Written by Heather Zubiate
Soil. The most basic foundation of any garden and farm, and well, of the whole earth really. Scripture tells us that on the third day of God's epic seven day creation, he caused the waters that covered the earth to depart revealing dry land. Then he proceeded to call forth grass, herbs, and fruit trees, all of which were to bear seeds after their own kind. See? God was (and is) the first gardener of the earth. Not surprisingly to me, the very things he said still happen to this very day, all of these plants bare seeds according to their own kinds, which brings about replenishment, and according to God, his work on this day was very good! So the soil that the Lord God started with, according to Genesis 1:10, was good. But how do we mere humans achieve the same feat of having good soil?
Never judge a book by it's cover. On that note, just look at this sad, sad looking soil. This is clay soil. This is the type of earth that covers much of the U.S.of A., and more specifically, my yard in So.Cal. I hate this stuff because it's so hard to dig in when it's sun baked and compacted, but believe it or not, according to soil experts, it holds a lot of nutrients. And nutrients are the key to having fertile soil, so while this stuff looks poor, takes a long time to drain water, and can be as hard as rock, if it is properly amended, it can be a nutrient rich gold mine for grasses, flowers, veggies, fruit trees, and ultimately you and your livestock.
The Importance of Good Soil
Dear reader, can you tell if your soil is good or bad by looking at it? As I have illustrated above, looks can be deceiving. Soil is the building block of everything having to do with all aspects of producing food, from sewing seeds to animal husbandry. Get the soil's composition (texture) and nutrients right, and every thing from cultivating, sewing, gardening, and harvesting, to feeding you and your livestock will be much more rewarding and healthful. Good soil is the key to good food, and good farming. Poor soil equals poor farm.
Soil Testing
The only sure fire way to tell what kind of physical and nutritional shape your soil is in, is to have it analyzed chemically by a soil lab. Soil labs also test for contaminants (like heavy metals and pesticides), composition, and pH. To be honest, I have NEVER done this seemingly simple procedure. "Why?", you may ask. Well, it can get pretty expensive, and I can't justify the cost since I'm not selling any produce, or raising animals for sale. If I had $35- $75 to spend (per sample), or I had a major growing operation, then sure, I'd have a professional lab test several samples of my soil. As it so happens, I already know I have clay soil (composition), and I already know much of it is alkaline (pH), thanks to my sickly azaleas, and blue hydrangeas that slowly turn pink. As for heavy metals and pesticides (contaminants)? Well, I'm in suburbia, not a heavy industrial area, even so, I'm sure there are still amounts of lead and arsenic, but how much of these con-taminants are in my soil is anyone's guess. So, if you want to have your soil tested by professionals in white lab coats, be my guest. But do your homework and find out what you actually get for your money.
Amending Soil
What does it mean to "amend" your soil? It means you make changes to it that are supposed to make it better. But what kind of changes? And what needs to be added? What is the "ideal" or best soil to achieve? According to garden experts, loam is the best soil composition, an ideal mixture of silt (40%), sand(40%), and clay(20%) soils. All soils have a certain percentage of these types of particles that make up the composition or texture of their soil. Sand particles are largest (.05-2 mm), followed by silt (.002-.05 mm), and clay is the finest (-.002 mm). While clay soils are characteristically dense in texture, they are also dense in nutrients, but the textural density will not allow good drainage or root development. While sandy soils drain well, and give way to spreading roots easily, they don't hold any nutrients.
This is why loam is the soil "ideal," as it holds enough water, and allows good root development, and also gives plants access to vital nutrients. But is it as simple as adding sand to break up clay, or adding clay to enrich sand? Not exactly.
In my quest to achieve good soil and therefore a good farm, I will be examining proper soil amendment materials, and practices and share what I've learned with you. I will also share simple D.I.Y. soil tests I found to help you to determine your soil's composition, and pH. As for nutrients, and contaminants, well, until I find ways you can test that at home, you will have to send samples to those scientists in white lab coats.
This is why loam is the soil "ideal," as it holds enough water, and allows good root development, and also gives plants access to vital nutrients. But is it as simple as adding sand to break up clay, or adding clay to enrich sand? Not exactly.
In my quest to achieve good soil and therefore a good farm, I will be examining proper soil amendment materials, and practices and share what I've learned with you. I will also share simple D.I.Y. soil tests I found to help you to determine your soil's composition, and pH. As for nutrients, and contaminants, well, until I find ways you can test that at home, you will have to send samples to those scientists in white lab coats.
But wait....there's more!