I know every seed I sow and every bloom I nurture are all critically integrated with the soil’s health. The plant’s growth and production quality to quantity depend on the soil quality. This concept is universal, and every gardener knows this. But do you know what to do if the soil quality is not good?
Well, the most suitable solution is soil amending. Two types of soil amendment techniques are generally used, and they demand in-depth knowledge in the selection process. If you are unaware of these, this article is for you.
Here, I elaborate on organic vs inorganic soil amendments. Let’s check out the detailed discussion.
Understanding Organic Soil Amendment
By seeing the term “organic,” you already know that this soil amending technique uses all the organic elements in the soil improvement process. In this case, organic elements like plant body parts, leaves, grass clippings, animal matter, organic compost, etc. are used.
These natural soil-improving items do not harm the environment while supplying nutrients and microorganisms to the soil, greatly boosting plants’ health.
You can use organic soil amendment techniques to resolve critical gardening issues like facilitating adequate drainage, moisture retention, loosening over compacted soil, etc.
Types of Organic Soil Amendments
You might see numerous organic soil amending types. However, in my experience, only four are highly effective in solving soil health-related problems. I briefly discuss those here.
Soil Amending via Compost & Worm Compost
Compost and worm compost are the most suitable soil amending types. I produce both by myself to ensure no chemical or synthetic elements are included. In composting, I generally place garden and kitchen waste in the designated bin and allow ample time for its natural decomposition.
On the other hand, worm composting is critical work but more effective than compost as it hosts beneficial bacteria produced by the worms. These two are the best to use if your garden’s soil is suffering from a lack of nutrients.
Manure
As per the core, manure contains animal blood, dung, urine, bone, etc. For this soil amending criterion, mix the mentioned animal extracts with yard wastes and go for natural decomposition before using them in the soil.
However, sometimes, depending on the issue, you can directly use the animal extracts.
Cover Croping
This soil amendment is good if you are struggling with moisture retention and soil erosion issues. Cowpeas, clovers, alfalfa, and mustard are the best elements for incorporating this soil amendment strategy.
Mulch
Soil amendment using mulch provides several benefits. It is a layer of organic substances that we place on the soil. It effectively ensures moisture retention, restricts soil erosion, and enriches the soil.
Mulch can also protect the plant roots from excessive heat, cold, and evaporation. Most importantly, it delivers superb output in weed control.
Advantages of Organic Soil Amending
The following are the benefits you can avail of using the organic soil amending method.
- The organic soil amending technique triggers environmental sustainability.
- It improves soil structure internally and facilitates drainage, root development, and aeration.
- The beneficial bacterial inclusion through organic amending offers a better nutrient cycle and disease suppression.
- This soil amending technique is highly cost-effective.
Must-consider Factors to Use Organic Soil Amendment Technique
Well, organic soil amending is beneficial. But it does not mean that you have to apply this approach for every problem of the soil. I highly recommend considering the factors below when deciding on this soil amending method.
- The application rate needs to be determined by considering the available nutrient content of the soil and the pH level requirement.
- Balancing is crucial here. You must not use one single type of organic amending element repeatedly.
- Mixing the amending elements or placing them on top depends on the issue type. For instance, if the whole soil lacks nutrients, go for mixing. Placing the organic element on top of the plant’s surrounding soil is more effective if there is moisture retention or drainage issue.
- You need to allow sufficient time for decomposition. If the decomposing is improper, the organic amending item will introduce weeds and pathogens. So, you should plan.
- The best thing to do is to get soil tested to identify soil health-related issues appropriately. It will assist you in selecting the right organic amending material.
Understanding Inorganic Soil Amendment
I know you are now thinking, why go for inorganic soil amendment if organic one can provide so much? Well, inorganic amending also imports benefits. This synthetic soil improvement approach is practical and boosts plant health enormously.
I have also experienced that, in some cases, a combination of organic and inorganic soil amending works best. I must admit that this soil improvement method does not support environmental sustainability.
However, in its process, you apply chemical and synthetic elements to enhance the soil’s health. The process demands using inorganic substances like perlite, vermiculite, dolomite lime, sand, gypsum, etc.
Types of Inorganic Soil Amending
There are two types of inorganic soil amending types based on the use of material. Here are the brief details of these two.
Fertilizers
To improve soil health, you can use chemical-based fertilizers. Depending on the improvement requirement, I select a fertilizer with the appropriate nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio. To choose the ratio, consider the below factors.
- If your plants fall into the heavily leafy category, you use a fertilizer with more nitrogen.
- If you want to ensure a higher growth rate of the root of the vegetable, fruit, or flower, you must select a fertilizer that contains more phosphorus. I must mention that phosphorus also protects the roots from various diseases.
- If you want your plants to grow faster, then you need to select fertilizer that contains a higher portion of potassium.
Individual Chemical Items
In this type of inorganic soil amending, you select individual chemicals depending on the issue type. The following are some examples of the most common issues and the needed chemicals.
- Gypsum with sodium salt and limestone adjusts the soil’s pH level.
- if your garden’s soil structure is not good use agricultural lime.
- You can use calcium chloride if the soil hosts too many alkaline properties.
- The lightweight minaret, vermiculite, etc., are good for improving the drainage capacity of the soil.
Advantages of Inorganic Soil Amending
Below are the must-mention benefits of using the organic soil amendment technique.
- First, the inorganic soil improvement approach provides faster results than the organic one.
- You can store inorganic substances for an extended period, which does not apply to organic substances.
- Inorganic amending offers more precise control over soil nutrient addition.
Must-consider Factors to Apply Inorganic Soil Amending Technique
Like organic soil amending, some influential factors are integrated into applying inorganic soil amending. Here, I list those factors for your understanding.
- Handling inorganic substances requires an appropriate level of caution as these can impose adverse impacts on your health.
- After applying inorganic substances in the garden soil, regular monitoring of pH and nutrient conditions is essential, as frequent adjustments are required to protect the base characteristics of the soil.
- You must apply the inorganic items per the manufacturer’s guidelines regarding the use rate, quantity, and timing.
- Applying inorganic materials in the soil improvement process without mixing them with organic items severely impacts the soil’s fertility and structure. These impacts last an extended period.
- The cost of applying inorganic soil improvement elements is higher than the organic soil amending process.
End Note Organic Vs. Inorganic
I expect that now you have a clear idea about organic vs. inorganic soil amendments. The associated understanding will help you select the best approach to ensure better plant health and increased production rate.
Finally, I strongly recommend organic soil amending as it is cheaper and eco-friendly. But if you do gardening for commercial purposes, you might not have the luxury to allocate that much time to soil improvement through an organic approach.
In this case, you are bound to use the inorganic approach. If you are bound, I suggest using a mix of organic and inorganic substances in the soil improvement process.
