Organic Amendments to Add to Your Soil

Posted by Chris Field
June 10th, 2008
Filed in Soil and Fertilizer
Tags: Compost, fertilizer, garden, garden planning, manure, planting, Soil and Fertilizer

As an organic gardener, you know that the soil is the most important factor in creating a successful garden. Rich healthy soil means healthy, beautiful blooms and juicy vegetables.

Compost

Compost is made from decayed organic materials such as straw, grass clippings, newspaper, leaves, certain food wastes, spent plants, hay, chipped trees/brush, and farm manures. You can easily make your own compost using a bin, tumbler or simple pile.

Compost holds 225% of its weight in water and, unlike peat moss, does not repel water when dry. Compost is not nutrient dense – it may contain only 1% nitrogen by weight, but it slowly releases a wide range of nutrients essential for plant growth. The pH of most compost is in the 6.6 to 7.2 range. Compost is the most important and frequently used amendment to build up the rich organic matter in soil.

It is easy to make at home and provides long-lasting benefits. Add it into soils prior to planting, spread it over beds of perennials and annuals as a top-dressing, and use it to plant into containers.

Calcium Sulfate

Gypsum is calcium sulfate, and it can be applied to heavy clay soils to improve soil structure and add calcium and sulfur without raising the soil pH. It also ties up excess magnesium. Gypsum can help leach out sodium when mixed into the top few inches of soil with a high salt concentration. This helps prevent burning of plant roots from excess salts. Also, if you have a female dog that is staining your grass with urine, then consider using gypsum as a treatment.

Regular Topsoil

Topsoil can be purchased by the bag or in bulk. Inspect bulk topsoil prior to purchase and delivery and ask about its history. Where did it come from? Has it been tested for pH, nutrient levels, and heavy metals such as lead? You do not want to spread soil that contains a high level of weeds or other materials that will cause you grief at a later date. Blended topsoil and leaf compost mixes are excellent for an instant raised-bed garden.

Mulches

Organic mulches such as straw, newspaper, and grass clippings, can be tilled into the soil at the end of the growing season. Others, such as shredded pine bark and hardwood chips, are not incorporated, but they act as soil amendments by slowly decomposing in place.

Because organic matter is used up through oxidation, especially in warm climates and where soils are frequently tilled, organic amendments should be added to the soil every year.