Know Your Soil: Signs That You Have Bad Soil and Remedies to Fix It
Good soil management is the key to having a good or healthy soil. Through the addition of beneficial amendments, you can improve even the poorest soils to be productive and healthy. Different farms have different soil requirements, and for this reason, get to know your soil, whether it's your farm or your small backyard garden. To help you, here are a few signs that your soil isn't good and possible ways to fix them.
Low and High Nitrogen Levels
Nitrogen is an important component for crop growth and nutrition. If the leaves of your plant are falling off or discolouring, your soil is likely low in nitrogen. To fix this, you can add compost to your soil. Too much nitrogen in soil is also not good for your plants. Some of the signs of too much nitrogen include downward cupping and wilting of the older leaves, which may be followed by brown or yellow-burnt areas on the lower leaves. Adding mulch to the soil will fix this problem. In addition, you can plant vegetables like broccoli, corn, and cabbage that will bring down or deplete the nitrogen levels.
Moss
Moss is not a good thing to have in your farm or garden. It is a sign that your soil has high acidity levels. For this reason, add some lime or wood ash to help bring your soil to levels that are more neutral. In addition, carefully look at the location of your garden at the end of the planting season. Moss will not do well in direct sunlight. If there are any overhanging bushes or tree branches blocking your garden from the sun, moss can grow. Therefore, make sure you remove sunlight obstructions.
Low Phosphorus Levels
If your backyard vegetables appear purple, they may be low in phosphorus. If the temperature of your soil is low, you will experience such cases. The phosphorous will probably be present in your soil, but the low temperature hinders it from being released to the plant. For this reason, add mulch to your garden or farm to increase the temperature of the soil and get the phosphorous released.
Hard and Cracked Soil
Your soil should be crumbly but not hard, cracked or dry. This is because if your soil is cracked and dry, water will run off instead of being absorbed. To deal with this issue, add organic matter frequently and avoid compacting the soil.
For further assistance, contact professionals for soil testing.
