Healthy gardens need healthy soil
Healthy soil is what your garden needs to thrive.
The Calgary Horticultural Society shares a lot of information about water-wise plant choices for Calgary, but for those plants to thrive, except for a few pioneer type plants—the ones that are the first to grow in the toughest conditions — they need to be planted in healthy soil.
Healthy soil is teaming with life. It is an ecosystem. The microorganisms interact with the roots of plants, and plants use these connections to engage with the soil environment. Research shows that mmycorrhizal networks, the root-like fibers of fungi, are important to the well-being of plants, especially trees. This network of fibers in forests has been named the “Wood Wide Web” as it provides a flow of information, water, and nutrients through the soil and between plants.
Healthy soil, like your compost pile, contains an assortment of fungi, bacteria, and protozoa. Soil is also home to critters in the animal kingdom, such as insects, earthworms, grubs, and burrowing animals. Did you know that most bumble bees live underground?
Healthy soil also has organic matter and air spaces, meaning it is not compacted and will have good drainage for melting snow and rainwater and will reduce runoff.
So, what can we do to build the health of our soil?
In the spring, it is important to “keep off the grass.” In other words, walk only on the pathways in your yard. Walking elsewhere can cause compaction. The footfalls on the newly thawed soil collapses the air pockets created by the melted ice crystals.
Top dress with compost. Compost adds nutrients, microbes, and organic matter. This is especially important if your soil is very high in clay or sand. Low organic matter in a clayey soil means rainwater cannot infiltrate the ground. Low organic matter in a sandy soil means that water quickly passes through and is not held in reserve for plants.
Use an organic mulch on garden beds and around trees and shrubs. Soil moisture is needed to sustain microorganisms, as well as plant life. Organic mulch will break down with time, aided by these organisms, helping to build healthy soil. Woody mulches also help cultivate garden fungi as many need decaying wood to flourish.
Delay spring cleanup. Many traditional gardeners, especially those who like formal gardens, like to have a tidy yard. Let the soil warm up a bit before clearing it of the detritus of the previous gardening season. Soil microbes that break down organic matter thrive with a bit of warmth and will be able to aid the decay of the plant material and, in turn, enhance the soil. Don’t be too quick to remove this food source.
Aerate your lawn, allow the aeration plugs to remain, and top dress with compost. The plugs will be quickly absorbed back into the soil, especially if it rains, and the topdressing-filled aeration holes adds organic matter to the soil.
Don’t dig and turn over the soil before planting. This practice exposes the soil organisms to sunlight and drying air that can kill them. Disturb the soil only where you are placing seeds or new plants.
Make your own compost. This is the best compost for your yard as it will be created with material and organisms from your environment.
If you purchased a home in a new community and your yard is not landscaped, put your garden budget into a nice layer of topsoil, 20 to 30 cm deep. This is the foundation for your future garden dreams. Ideally, it would be a true loam or a compost blend and not clayey soil that will need years of amendments.
In the fall, especially with the warmer trends we’ve experienced, let the plants be. Late freeze ups mean the soil’s biota will remain active, converting the organic matter into elements that build soil health.
For more information about gardening in Calgary and to learn about the YardSmart program, join us at our upcoming Gardeners’ Market on April 25. Please visit calhort.org for event information and more! .
