How to Keep Organic Soil In Raised Garden Beds
The soil is a place where we can harvest and destroy crops for a whole year. Organic planting method depends on living soil. As each season passes, if we ignore one season of soil, it may become a little tired and very low yield. The following content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.
A novice gardener may think that the soil needs to be replaced, but more experienced growers know that there are things that can revitalize the soil and prepare it for full production.
How to refresh the soil in the raised garden bed?
During the growing season, many nutrients are obtained from the soil, which takes time to obtain again. Because we are growing food and want to maximize production, we often run out of available nutrients in the soil.
The soil can be naturally replenished, or we can quickly track it through our actions. The following list details some ways to organically update the raised garden bed soil.
- Add compost.
- Scatter rock powder on the soil.
- Planting green cover crops, such as beans.
- Cover the soil to maintain biological activity and health.
- Fill the bed with an organic soil.
- Why add compost to the raised garden bed?
Adding compost to the raised garden bed soil will replace the nutrients, minerals and trace elements removed from the soil by plants and vegetables, or slowly soak into the lower layer of the garden bed through constant watering.
High quality compost will contain all these elements in the form of plants, and compost can also accommodate incredible biological life, which is very beneficial to your soil and plants. 2. Will rock dust improve the soil of the garden bed?
If your area often suffers from heavy rainfall, it is worth seeing to remineralize your garden bed soil
Although it may take a while for rock dust to become a usable plant, it will certainly improve the garden bed soil.
- What effect does mulching crop have on organic soil?
Covering crops is a way to maintain biological activity. Careful selection of crops can be a way to replace nitrogen in soil.
One way to use mulch crops is to plant beans, such as cowpeas and similar small vegetables, and then dig them into the soil a few weeks before you want to replant the raised garden bed with vegetables.
The biomass under the soil now is the home of millions of beneficial bacteria, which have now died. The minerals and nutrients that make up these life forms are now available to plants. Covering crops can also keep the soil cool in hot weather.
- What are the benefits of covering a raised garden bed?
Covering garden beds is a good way to keep water in garden beds and provide a habitat for beneficial interactions between biology and soil interfaces.
This activity helps to break down soil components into usable plant forms that are beneficial to our vegetables.
- Why does the soil of the raised garden bed sink continuously?
The soil level of our raised garden bed is always falling, and we suspect that we are not the only one who has happened to them.
The reason why the soil of the raised garden bed sinks horizontally is that the filler placed at the bottom of the bed at the time of filling is now rotting and settling.
How to keep the soil of the raised garden bed healthy?
Healthy soil can grow healthy vegetables, so it is very important to keep the soil healthy. How to determine whether your soil is in good condition is the number of worms in the soil when you work. The quality of farmland was once measured by the number of earthworms per square foot.
Poor soil has little biological activity, while healthy soil is active with movement. By imitating the natural soil construction process under fallen leaves in low-lying areas of local parks and natural trails, you can understand what we should aim at.
Observation is the first step to keep the soil healthy, and then take action according to our observation in an orderly and intelligent way.
How to improve the soil of the raised garden bed?
When you prepare a bed for seasonal planting, improve the garden soil by adding organic matter to the soil.
The addition of organic substances is rarely harmful to plants, because what we are doing is to intervene and quickly track what happens in nature, because the wooden materials slowly decompose and wash into the soil over time.
How do you fertilize the soil of the raised garden bed?
You can fertilize the raised garden bed in many ways, but if you want to grow organically, this will remove the chemical fertilizer stored in the store.
These fertilizers are good at providing basic requirements for plants and making your plants look healthy. Although they look good, some of them are destroying the soil biology below the surface.
It is this kind of biology that allows you to grow organic food on the raised garden bed, just adding compost and mulch, without harmful chemical brewing.
Animal waste is also a good way to provide nutrients for the soil.
How often do you change the soil?
If the soil is free of disease and the pH value is suitable for planting your favorite plants, there is no reason to change the soil.
As each season passes, active organic gardeners will add something to the soil. If you apply reasonable techniques and practices to the soil, the soil can actually become more fertile. Changing the soil is often the last resort to solving problems.
When should the raised garden bed soil be replaced?
If the soil is found to have some biological problem and no solution can be found to cure it, the soil should be changed in the raised garden bed. Soil removal is a difficult task and can only be regarded as a last resort.
How long can the soil of the raised garden bed last?
When you apply good organic planting practices, the raised garden bed soil is a living substance, so let's rephrase this question: how long does the soil fertility last.
It depends on each gardener, and more active growers will be able to increase soil fertility, even if they grow food on raised garden beds.