Creating good soils
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the most important part of organic gardening THINKING ABOUT SOILS
THE VALUES OF GOOD SOIL
A REGENERATIVE RESOURCE
Fertile, nutritious soils are the basis of prolific, productive organic gardens. Good gardening starts with good soils.
In this publication we propose that gardeners improve their garden soils by making their own fertiliser in the form of compost. Doing this is to turn what is a waste disposal problem into a solution.
Soil is like any other resource. We deplete it as we make use of it, so we have to replace the nutrients taken up by our plants and removed from the soil habitat when we harvest.
Soils are a habitat. They consist of: ■ a non-living part made up of the minerals such as sand and clay ■ air ■ the living part of the soil made up of insects and bacteria, virus and fungi. A fertile soil is a matrix of life. To garden and grow food successfully we create a habitat in which soil life, including that which we plant, can flourish. Like people, plants need a balanced diet of nutrients. In the organic garden these come from the soil. We create the soil—this habitat for soil life—by understanding how soils work and by working with nature. Knowledge of soils leads to cooperation with nature and, as our crops thrive, to good, tasty food.
Managing soil for fertility: ■ is the basis for producing some of the food we eat ■ offers us an understanding of how we can apply science in the home or community garden—in other words, soil management contributes to learning ■ encourages mutual assistance and conviviality when done with others ■ benefits wildlife such as insects, small reptiles and birds ■ make our towns an cities productive places ■ sequesters carbon.
Fortunately, we can regenerate soil by turning our garden and kitchen wastes—anything that was or is living—into compost and adding that to our garden. It helps to think of our garden soil as a living thing requiring its own inputs and management.
HOW SOILS ARE FORMED Soils are formed over time by: ■ physical weathering — the disintegration of rock, known as parent material, into small particles and, finally, into soil minerals through the action of climatic influences such as temperature, rainfall, freeze and thaw cycles ■ chemical weathering — the chemical alteration of particles through the action of organic acids from the breakdown of plant material, minerals and other chemicals present in the soil.
Improving soil in a raised garden bed using compost and straw.
IDEAS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING IN THE CITY… publication produced by Community Gardens Australia
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