Understanding Soil - Part 1: Benefits of Soil Improvements

[Yamila Esther Gonzalez]

By: NaturalFreeChoice.com

Soil is the basis of our food production. If we want to grow healthy plants it is good to know the benefits of soil improvement.

There are various types of soil like clay, loam, and sand. The one that is generally preferred is loam. To get better results from our soil we need to make some improvements, even if it is loam, it can be improved to make it better.

These are some of the benefits of soil improvements:

1) More vitamins and minerals for the plants, so you will have better health.

2) Money saving because of the use of organic techniques,also plant and animal wastes are used.

3) Increases water drainage avoiding water to be stagnant. Too much water can slow down growth.

Read more: Understanding Soil - Part 1: Benefits of Soil Improvements

[Terryc]

Not real helpful.
Basically, your soils range from clay(lots around Sydney) through loam (river flats) to sand (Perth). What is best depends on what you are trying to grow.

Clay is nutrient rich but prone to water logging, where sand is nutrient poor and drains freely but doesn't retain water well. So you want a mixture.

For growing stuff, soil usually needs organic matter. Has the benefit that it helps with water retention and breaking up the soil. Also supports life(microbes, worms, insects, etc) within the soil. Can also hold the various minerals plants need.

Availability of minerals generally depends on soil pH and different plants grow best in different pH ranges.

Not, one of the features of Australian plants is that they often rely on microrhiza(sp?)l associations; that is, like humans depends on the mitochondria(sp?) in our body, plants may depend on different microbes living in or near them to make soil nutrient and minerals available to them.

enough for 1am contrib.