Contribute to the Development of Healthy Soil
In order to have healthy plants and flowers you need healthy soil. Where do you begin? Read on for some helpful suggestions to get your soil into tip top form!
Compost the Soil
Compost is a natural way to bring health and life to your soil. Compost is the material that is dark and earthy and is made up of living and dead organic matter, such as food scraps, decaying plants and animal waste. Compost is an important element when it comes to growing soil that is healthy. Compost helps keep soil well balanced. It helps it retain moisture, and it keeps it fertile and well-drained as well as loose. These things combine to make for the best soil around!
When you are planting a lawn or creating a new flower bed either dig-in or roto-till compost at a depth of one to four inches. Compost is beneficial for every kind of soil. Clay soil is loosened thanks to compost, while sandy soil becomes better able to hold in water and nutrients. Compost provides food for plants, as well as much needed protection from diseases and the elements. Soil that is healthy makes for greener plants!
Use Mulch on Your Soil
Mulch is the name given to the grass clippings that you get after you have mowed the lawn. Mulch is an organic kind of material that also includes such things as leaves, compost, and wood chips. Collect as much mulch as you can, make a layer of it, and spread it around all of your plants. Do this in the springtime, in the autumn or both.
Make sure that the mulch is spread such that it is one inch away from the stems of your plants. Mulch is good for plants because it feeds the soil, conserves water and discourages the growth of weeds.
Flower beds and vegetable gardens need one to three inches of mulch. Use compost, grass clippings or leaves for this purpose. When it comes to bigger plants such as shrubs, trees and woody perennials, choose woody types of mulch, such as bark, fall leaves, or wood chips. Use two to four inches of mulch for these plants.
Buy a mulching mower that can do the work of mulching for you. Leave the clippings where they fall!
