All About Soil!
When it comes to soli, some might not realize how much of what the soil is built up of matters, or the effects it can have on helping plants grow. Depending on what you plan to plant, whether a vegetable garden, flower garden, or lawn, the type of soil you use can affect everything. Soil is also not just dirt, it is made up of tiny microorganisms and is an entire ecosystem in and of itself. There are also different ways to treat the soil to make sure not to disrupt that ecosystem by avoiding tilling and the use of compost can be a huge benefit. Healthy living soil = healthy plants.
What are the Different Types Of Soil?
A good place to start when taking on a yard project is identifying what soli type you have, then you will be able to figure out what may need to be added for optimal plant health. There are six main soil types: clay, sandy, silty, chalky, peaty, and loamy. Each has its own benefits and disadvantages. Clay can be hard to grow vegetables in, it is compacted and poor draining. Sandy dries out fast and holds fewer nutrients. Silty holds moisture and usually has a lot of nutrients, but also benefits from having compost mixed in. It is the better option for gardens. Chalky is larger-grained and stonier compared to other soils and is alkaline which might need appropriate organic fertilizers to help balance the PH. Peaty is spongy feeling due to its high levels of peat, which is acidic and has issues with drainage. Lastly, loamy soil is an even mix of sand, silt, and clay. It is great for gardens and lawns, but also requires mixing in organic matter to help keep nutrients at a good level.
What is in Soil?
Ever wonder what is actually in soil other than just being dirt? There are tons of microorganisms that make up healthy soil, creating a whole ecosystem. Healthy soils with a proper balance of microorganisms play a big role in plant health and disease prevention. When it comes to understanding all of the microorganisms in the soil, the Soil Food Web is a great source of information to go by, and what we at Inherit Designs Landscaping use rather than bypass it with synthetic and petroleum-based fertilizers. The Soil Food Web is made up of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. These different groups interact with each other and with plants to create an abundant ecosystem. As organisms decompose complex materials, nutrients are converted from one form to another and are made available to plants and other soil organisms. When well-structured soil allows air to flow in, it creates an oxygen-rich environment and selects beneficial microorganisms, and suppresses disease-causing organisms.
How to Make Your Soil Healthy
If you have identified what type of soil you have, you will be able to decide what needs to be added to it to make it healthy to support plant life. Soil testing can also be done to determine the soil’s PH balance and is a service we offer our clients. We can source mulches and soil without micro plastics in them. Micro plastics are a huge problem now due to the kitchen waste recycling composts entering landscape soils and composts. Usually, plastic bags and fruit stickers are a big source of adding to that problem and can raise the PH of soil. Using Mycorrhizal fungi spores when planting helps the plant obtain additional moisture and nutrients. Mycorrhiza is the mutual symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant and refers to the role of the fungus in the plant’s root system. Using Mycorrhiza spores prompts the growth of the plant's roots, which allows the roots to spread out more, and absorb more nutrients and water from the ground. This leads to healthier, larger plants and helps resilience against disease or stress. It is not a fertilizer, so you should also be mixing organic matter into your soil to keep adding nutrients and microorganisms, which compost is a great source to use for soil health. Mulching garden beds also help mitigate the negative effects of climate change due to their thermal regulation properties, helping cool the roots in summer and keeping them warm in winter.
Little Bee Blooms
Here at Inherit Designs Landscaping, the environment and everything in it is really important to us. We do everything we can to work green and think of ways to lower our carbon footprint. We would like to announce Little Bee Blooms! It is our organic and ethical fresh cut floral arrangements for weddings, events, wholesale, and retail. Our flowers are safe to handle and are safe for wildlife too. Little Bee Blooms are so friendly to wildlife we find bees sleeping in our flowers all the time! With bee populations in rapid decline, we felt it important to ensure our farm is bee friendly. The bees on our farm flourish with all the diverse flower pollen helping their fragile little immune systems. The bees are one example of many organisms that are increasing the biodiversity on our farm. This is a main farming principle of ours. A farm should always be increasing biodiversity,not destroying it. Click here to visit the site and see what we are about!
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About Me
I am the Owner of Inherit Designs Landscaping. Since 2003, my team and I have been providing sustainable garden solutions to the Cowichan Valley and Greater Victoria. I personally hold two certifications in horticulture and permaculture and take great pride in the service I offer my clients. My family and I live on our organic flower farm called Little Bee Blooms, run by my wife. Together we are continually conducting research gardens and experimenting in many aspects of horticulture and permaculture to improve our knowledge and the operation of our businesses.