Healthy soil means a healthy garden

Spring seems to have sprung early on the east coast of Australia. In Sydney, there is colour bursting from flowers, beautiful blossoms have appeared overnight on bare branches and jasmine scents the air. Call it overexcitement, but I’ve sown some tomato seeds early. If it gets cold again, I can always take them inside for some mollycoddling.

So with Spring upon us, it’s time to think about preparing our garden beds and vege patches in earnest. Of course, you’ve all been working hard on that through Winter, haven’t you? If not, never mind. There’s still time to get things in order before you start growing delicious things to eat.

Start by spending some time observing your soil in different parts of your garden or the space in which you want plants, edible or otherwise, to grow well. Healthy soil is the most important element of a successful garden. Australian soils vary enormously around the country, and not many of us are blessed with naturally good loam. Many gardeners battle sandy soil, heavy clay, silty soil and everything in between. However, don’t lose heart if your current soil disappoints you. All soils can be greatly improved with biodynamic and organic methods.

The main aim of biodynamic soil nutrition is to create bacterial and microbial life within the existing soil, creating stable humus that feeds plant life. Humus is the organic matter in soil which is formed by the decomposition of plant material. Soils that have high humus content can support abundant living biological life which in turn processes plant material, animal manure and other organic material into more humus. Humus enables soil to retain moisture and therefore reduce irrigation needs. It also holds the necessary nutrients for balanced plant growth.

How to identify healthy soil
It is important to learn how to identify healthy soil so that you can remedy deficiencies and improve structure. Without living soil ― that is, soil that is full of living organisms such as worms and tiny fungi ― plants cannot thrive.
Soil that has a good level of humus is structured like crumbs and feels silky when rubbed between your fingers. The first few centimetres of soil, or topsoil, usually contains the most humus.

Dig down about 30 cm, look for a crumb-like open structure, and evidence of worm castings and worm holes. Roots and root hairs may run through the soil, and if they do, they should have soil particles clinging to them. This is another indication of humus content. Earthworms should be present where the topsoil meets the subsoil. Abundant soil life encourages worm activity and numbers. Earthworm castings have plant nutrients more readily available to plants than the soil itself.

In the next few posts, we’ll be discussing how to improve your soil, mineral deficiencies and ph levels.