Soil Amendments – Organic
The absolute best type of amendment you can use in your soil is organic soil amendments because it can add a reservoir of nutrients for plant roots to absorb.
To produce big juicy nutritional vegetables, your soil must be able to supply the plant with the following five critical nutrients:
* Nitrogen — for leaf development;
* magnesium — to help the plants with photosynthesis
* Calcium and phosphorus — to help the plant bear fruit and help root growth.
* Potassium — for root development and to resist disease.
* a range of micronutrients such as boron, iron and zinc.
(To find out what nutrients might be missing in your soil, you need to get it tested. See the article explaining how to get your soil tested)
Organic soil amendments can be made of natural plants (ex leaf mold or peatmoss) or animal materials (such as bloodmeal or bonemeal) or of powdered minerals or rock (such as rock phosphate or granite meal).
Adding organic matter stimulates the natural cycles that enrich soil. Earthworms and soil microorganisms break down organic matter into forms that plants can use. As these organic amendments are slowly broken down by microorganisms, they are releasing their nutrients slowly over months or even years.
When organic amendments are added to the upper few inches of soil as mulch and is allowed to slowly decompose naturally, you are in fact mimicking nature’s process of feeding not only plants but also the soil.
The end result is the creation of humus, a stable form of decomposed organic matter that improves soil structure so roots can penetrate the soil easily.
Not only is the soil being replenished with nutrients, the compost or humus also increases the soil’s capacity to hold air and water.
Different Ways to Create Organic Compost:
There are different ways you can use natural materials to feed and remedy soil structure. You can choose to use compost bins to make compost– a mix of decomposed plant and animal materials, which can then be worked into your soil in the spring before you plant or in the fall after harvest time.
You can choose to cold compost also. All these methods of composting are explained step by step in the ebook How To Compost In Your Backyard or you may choose to read individual posts outlining each of the four composting methods step by step.
Organic amendment is far superior to synthetic chemical fertilizers. Synthetic fertilizers are water-soluble and produce a sudden flush of mineral salts that are taken up rapidly py plants. Aalthough such salts can produce good yields, they also repel earthworms and other compost-making creatures, our most important allies to keeping the soil fertile and rich. (Here’s a personal experience which showed me how worms hate synthetic fertilizers.)
If you use only synthetic chemical fertilizers, your soil will be lifeless soil, low in nutrients, and low to nil in compost. The only way to support your crops would be to add more doses of chemicals — and you’ve started on a merry-go–round of ruining your soil.
Because your soil is not being replenishes, it will have less and less of the necessary nutrients for lush and healthy growth, the plants/vegetables will be less and less healthy thus more and more susceptible to being attacked by insects and pests.
To avoid this type of catastophic ending to nutritious food and better health, you might want to consider the opposite route of feeding the soil — i.e. going organic.
Examples of good common soil amendments:
1. Compost or decomposed plant material — to improve soil texture and add nutrients to the soil. Straw, grass clippings, or shredded leaves are examples of such mulches.
2. Peat moss, a lightweight and inexpensive natural amendment, — to help loosen heavy soils or in the case of sand, to radically improve the ability of soil to hold moisture. Peat moss can be bought in big or small quantities. I always used to keep a bag or two in my shed.
3. Composted manure, (usually cow or sheep manure which can bought in bags) — to improve drainage and moisture retention in the soil and to add nitrogen among other nutrients. Composted manure has a rich, dark texture and is easy to work into soil.
4. Leaf mold (composted or decomposed leaves) — to help loosen the soil. High in nitrogen and potassium, the leaf mold releases its nutrients slowly in soil. Leaf mold and other garden leftovers are often called “the gardener’s gold” for when decomposed, the resulting material helps any type of soil become rich loam.
5. Shredded bark or wood chippings — to improve soil texture by making it more airy and improve soil drainage. Shredded bark such as cedar bark is often used to mulch around the base of plants and trees. Avoid shredding or chipping any wood which has been painted or have been tainted with oil preservatives or such things as plywood which is kept together with glue.
6. Worm castings — a terrific addition which brings with it much needed nutrients. I have been using worm castings for my balcony and indoor potted plants and have found worm castings to be every bit as good as composted plant material.
7. Green manure, — a great soil amendment which can add many nutrients and amend texture immensely. Green manure is easy to make. In the fall after the harvest, plant alfalfa seeds or soy seeds (be sure the seeds are GMO-free) in your garden. Allow it to grow some, and in the early spring before the crop starts making seeds, cut the growing plant to the ground and then plow it in or with a shovel turn this green manure under. I’ve used this method extensively during the last five years I still had my house.
By adding the proper organic soil amendments to change the texture of your soil, you are well on the way to producing rich loam, the road to healthier, more nutritious vegetables and plants which are lush and vibrant.
Tags:amend clay soil,amend soil texture,for soil amendment,natural fertilizers,organic amendments,soil,soil amending,soil amendment,soil amendments,soil organic matter
Tags: 
Great post. We had to add amendments to our garden because of the clay soil.
[...] moss, as well as some sand to poor soil to improve its texture. Herbs rarely need fertilizer! …Soil Amendments — Organic | Organic Vegetable Gardening BlogThe five plus critical nutrients you must have in your garden soil for healthy plants, why use [...]