Plants are known for being low maintenance and easily sustainable little life forms. Though that is true, in order to grow healthy plants, be it for a good crop yield or to have beautiful and colourful flowers, they need to be grown in fertile soil.
Ensure That Your Plants Are In A Healthy And Fertile Soil
Soil consists of mineral particles, or in a more precise term inorganic salts. There are also organic matter, water, and some gases. Plants need to absorb this matter through their roots in the soil. They use these nutrients in many metabolic processes. These processes are required for the survival of the plants, so they can produce molecules rich in energy, and grow further. By knowing what plants prefer to ‘’eat’’ from the soil, you can make the optimal conditions for their well-being.
All-natural-made soil
Nature itself usually solves its own needs and provides for itself if left in a good environment. Plants used to grow without any human intervention, so making or buying naturally made soil is a good option. Naturally made soil means that microbes along with other small animals and fungus make the soil just by processing animal wastes (natural excrements or flesh) and dead plants.
These wastes would otherwise not be available to the plant, so these critters make them into a form that can plants absorb. One of these animals that are especially good at converting matter is worms. There are various different products that help with this, with some manufacturers providing Simple Grow Soil Builder, which ensures that your soil is 100% pure worm castings. This means that the soil is made in an eco-friendly way and it does not contain any other components which can harm the plant (unnecessary sand, dirt, and heavy metal contaminations).
Using chemical fertilizers
If you have soil that is depleted of all its natural goodies, this can easily be fixed. By adding certain pure compounds to the soil. Chemical fertilizers refer to substances that have been made synthetically on an industrial scale. This usually sparks a bit of a controversy in most people. People think that these substances are ‘’evil’’ and harmful because of chemicals.
To tell you the truth, everything is a chemical. The art of making these at an industrial scale has been sophisticated to the maximum level so there is no need to worry about other contaminations. This method ensures that you know at all times what the soil has. It also makes you are the master of it how much the soil has these important substances.
The amount of fertilizers added must be precise
The downside of this method is that you need to know how much of these fertilizers plants need. By adding too little there will be no benefits and if you add too much you can poison the plant. That is because plants, unlike humans, absorb all they can and they can not stop by knowing that they are already full of the needed nutrients.
Check for animal life
If you already got the right soil, you can inspect if the soil is holding up well by looking for small animals. Dig a hole that is around 15 cm deep and look for worms, spiders, centipedes, beetles, and other insects. The more life you see, this means there is a healthy little ecosystem developing around your plants which is what you want to see. Plants always live in symbiosis with the rest of the life sphere and everyone benefits from everyone.
Microorganisms and how they affect the soil
Even though you can’t see them, the most important players in this game of soil are the microorganisms. Checking for fungi and bacteria is essential to ensuring that your soil is fertile. These little organisms are the ones that are full of enzymes that make convert other molecules into useful nutrients for others. Unfortunately, not all are that good and some can make toxins that can harm the plant.
How to check for Microorganisms?
These tests are usually done by experts in the field because of the complexity needed to differentiate good microorganisms from bad ones. So be sure to keep in touch with a local agricultural expert to carry out these experiments and recommend what to do next.
Making your soil fertile is the most essential step in good gardening practice. By using all-natural-made soil, you are protecting the planet and also ensuring that your plants have all the nutrients they need to stay healthy. If you opt for chemical fertilizers, you can make any kind of soil into the perfect formula for what your plants need and can expect really good crop yields. Keep in mind that plants are not isolated life forms. They depend on other life forms the same way that we and other ones depend on these green beauties.