Effective Ways to Improve Soil Fertility in Your Garden Plot

Many garden plot owners face the issue of slow plant growth, insufficient flowering, and declining yields. However, improving soil fertility is entirely possible if the problem is approached correctly and the type of soil on the plot is taken into account.

This is reported by AgroReview

How to Identify Soil Problems

• Dry soil is characterized by a light color and a crumbly structure. It predominantly contains a lot of sand, which leads to poor moisture and nutrient retention.
• Clay soil has a brown color, a dense structure, poor drainage, and warms up slowly. The root system of plants in such soil often suffers from a lack of moisture and oxygen.
• Swampy (peaty-swampy) soil is distinguished by an olive, rusty, or bluish tint with spots. It is characterized by high acidity and a deficiency of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
• Podzolic soil has white or gray shades, is poor in micronutrients, heavy, poorly drained, and warms up slowly, making it unsuitable for agriculture.

Recommendations for Improving Fertility of Different Soil Types

Each type of soil requires an individual approach. For example, improving the quality of dry soil is a long-term process that can take at least five years. It is important to regularly mulch with organic materials to a depth of 4-5 cm, plant green manures, add peat, dry leaves, sawdust, and apply mineral fertilizers. Decorative and medicinal plants, as well as certain shrubs, can grow in such soil, but for seedlings, it is advisable to add nutrient-rich soil to the holes for better survival.

Clay and heavy clay soil require improved aeration. It is recommended to add peat, limestone flour, compost, manure, sand, and sawdust. Planting green manures and regular loosening contribute to the formation of a fertile layer 15-20 cm thick in about 5-6 years. Moisture-loving and frost-resistant crops, perennials, conifers, bulbous plants, vines, and bird cherry thrive well in such areas.

Swampy soil is often characterized by a lack of minerals and excessive acidity, especially during cold winters. To improve it, it is advisable to use mineral fertilizers, and in cases of high acidity, lime fertilizers. After neutralizing the acidity, it is possible to grow almost any crops.

Acidic soil is suitable for growing potatoes, beets, garlic, cabbage, sorrel, cranberries, lettuce, peas, strawberries, cucumbers, and blueberries. To increase yields, it is worth adding nitrogen fertilizers, and to reduce acidity, cement dust or ground lime.

Podzolic soil usually has an acidic reaction, so it should be enriched with lime, organic matter, and minerals. During tilling, compost and peat are added, which contributes to the overall improvement of soil quality and increased yields.

It is important to conduct proper diagnostics and take appropriate measures to improve the soil composition.