Healthy plants in your garden start with nutrient-rich soil with the right amounts of materials. As your plants grow, they deplete the nutrients in your garden's soil. That's why it's important to make sure to take steps to improving soils in your garden so that they stay healthy.
4 Easy Tips for Improving Soils
1.Assess your soil's condition.
The first step to improving soils in your garden is to check the overall condition of your garden's soil. That way you know how to address its needs properly.
Observe your soil's color. Healthy soil should be dark or reddish brown. If the soil in your garden is gray, streaking, or yellow, it's possible that there's a problem with your garden's drainage system, and it should be fixed.
Also, check your soil's pH level. If it's is too acidic or alkaline, it will affect the growth of the different plants in your garden. You can test it using one of those home test kits or ask a professional gardener in your area to do this.
I'd recommend choosing the second option if you're a beginner because a local gardener will be able to measure the soil's pH level correctly. If your soil's pH level is too high or too low, a professional gardener will be able not only to offer suggestions on how to fix it but also tips on how to prevent this from happening again.
2.Regularly add compost to your plants.
Compost is an organic fertilizer that's made of decomposed plants, so they're packed with all the nutrients your plants need to grow at just the right amounts.
You can get ready-made compost from your local garden supply store, or you can make your own compost at home by alternately piling fresh plants like grass clippings and vegetable scraps with dry leaves and branches in pots or trash bins. You can even add some soil filled with earthworms to help speed up the process.
You don't need a lot for improving soils in your garden. A quarter-inch layer will be enough to improve your garden soil's quality.
3.cover up your soil with organic mulch.
Mulching the soil around your trees and plants offers a lot of benefits for the plants in your garden.
For starters, they help protect the soil from getting too hot, too cold or too wet as the season changes, making sure that the roots of the plants in your garden don't become susceptible to fungal disease and pests.
Mulching your soil also help keep weeds away from your garden by shielding your soil from sunlight, preventing them from growing and invading your garden.
Organic mulch decomposes over time, which means that you'll need to replace this regularly. What's good about it though is that as they disintegrate, the nutrients are absorbed by the soil that is, in turn, consumed by your plants.
4.Recycle coffee and tea leaves.
Don't throw away your used coffee grounds and tea bags when you're done with them. Both used coffee grounds and tea leaves contain nutrients making them work as cost-effective organic fertilizers for improving your soil's quality.
