Soil Building and Fall Fertilization

How to build soil to achieve plant health.

Planters II - 10 lb. bag
Item # H0022 		Planters II: Natural Trace Mineral Fertilizer

each $10.95
  • Topic: Soil
  • Author: Mary Ann Walz
  • Keywords: soil, texture, amending, compost, Soil
  • Date: September 2002

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Soil Building

Having great soil is the key to healthy gardens but few of us are lucky enough to have this without some effort. Most of us have to work at improving our soil for both texture and fertility.

Texture is the proportion of sand, silt and clay in the soil. Very sandy soil drains rapidly but also dries out quickly. Clay soil drains poorly and sometimes remains waterlogged. It also can become very hard and compacted. One remedy to improve the texture is the addition of organic matter, compost being the most commonly used.

Improve soil texture by adding a top dressing of compost or mulch in existing beds. I use Soil Mender Blend, a product that contains composted cow manure and cotton burrs. For new beds or those that contain annuals or vegetables, the texture can be improved by sheet mulching. Essentially this is like a small compost pile you don’t have to move.

Layer a combination of carbon and nitrogen sources. Start with nitrogen rich material on the soil surface. This includes lawn clippings, manure, or other green waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings. Wet this layer before adding the layer of carbon materials, which include dried leaves, corrugated cardboard or newspaper. Wet this layer before repeating anothenitrogen layer.

Finally, put down a layer of weed free straw. Keep the layers moist throughout the winter and next spring you’ll find the layered material broken down into compost, which can be turned into your soil.

Fertility, the other major consideration of good soil, is the naturally occurring chemicals and micronutrients that provide the life-sustaining nourishment for your plants. The major nutrients in the soil are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, the NPK you see expressed with three numbers (2-3-2 for example) on bags of purchased fertilizer.

Other micronutrients present in soil include iron, zinc, copper and manganese. These and other microorganisms all need organic matter to remain healthy. To determine what your soil needs, it’s wise to do a soil test. The Cooperative Extension Service in your county can help with this or you can get one of the do-it-yourself test kits.

Once you know what your soil is lacking, you can start working on correcting the deficiencies and help your garden maintain healthy soil.

Fall Fertilization

In the fall, you don’t want to encourage a lot of new top growth but you do want to encourage root development. The use of a fertilizer like Gro-Power Flower and Bloom encourages bloom and root development. Yum Yum Mix is a good balanced organic fertilizer with trace minerals that can be worked into the soil around your perennials. Planters II is a natural trace mineral fertilizer that provides many nutrients often lacking in our western soils. Fall is a good time to use this as a top dressing.

Any newly planted perennials, trees or shrubs should be given applications of a quality root stimulator such as Superthrive, which will encourage the plant to grow strong roots and get ready for winter. Be sure to use organic mulch for added winter protection.

Building your soil over time with organic amendments and fertilizers leads to beautiful gardens with healthy plants and our environment will also benefit from your conscientious efforts.