2 Tips On Beginner Organic Gardening - Soil Health

Beginner organic gardening - Soil organic matter is, as most of us know, is caused by the natural breakdown of both animal and plant matter. This organic matter, among many other important things, provides all of the essential vitamins and nutrients for plant growth of any and every kind. It has one of the most important roles in any organic system. If you intend to make or formulate your own organic matter, there are a few things you need to know about it. They are:

A. Fixation of carbon dioxide (CO2) by plants.

One of the main goals of any organic production systems is the capturing of carbon or CO2. Energy from the sun, through and extremely efficient system, is actually recycled and reused through and by the different forms of organic matter. The addition of carbon really improves the physical properties of the soil. These properties includes:

a) soil stability
b) provides nourishment
c) provides a habitat and shelter

Combining the above with compost on the surface of the soil, and crops or plants, greatly increases the capacity of the soil to hold water and at the same time greatly reduces losses due to soil erosion.

B. Soil organic matter content maintenance

All soil contains both microbial and macrofaunal populations. They are necessary to recycle the nutrients in the soil, breaking them down to be even more efficient. The organic matter content that occurs naturally in the type of soil being used, should be maintained at all times. If you are using a loamy soil, then there should be higher organic matter present than if you were using sandy soil. Try to keep it along the lines of what would occur naturally in the type of soil. Microbial and macrofauna includes earthworms,nematodes, actinomycetes, fungi and bacteria. In all forms of organic operations, crop rotation is a necessity. For example, legumes such as red clover and alfalfa contributes nitrogen and also assists in the recycling of nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus. Rotating deep root crops into your organic operation actually causes the nutrients situated deeper in the soil to be extracted to the surface anytime the vegetation dies. This residue of plant material also provides the biological matter for soil macrofauna like earthworms and beetles which depend on it for their survival.

By: Nicholas M. Freeman

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2 Tips on Beginner Organic Gardening Soil Health helps to keep the environment safe for future generations. Going to www.squidoo.com/organic_gardening_made_easy is your first step to improving the quality of food that you eat and improving the world in which we live.