Love Your Soil!
Country Smallholding|March 2018

Good soil is the key to success on your veg patch

Kim Stoddart
Love Your Soil!

It may not be glamorous, but soil is the enabler of all life on our veg patch. Despite trying for many years to wear gardening gloves and protect my hands, I’ve now given into the fact that I like nothing better than running my fingers through some good honest loam. I enjoy letting it clog my nails and muddy my hands. In my opinion it’s the only way to get truly connected and being this up close and personal enables you to fully appreciate its precious importance. After all the healthier your soil, the more robust and productive your plants will be.

There have even been studies tying in the mental health benefits of touching beneficial-microbe-packed soil. It may be a simple pleasure, but it certainly reaps multiple rewards.

Here are some of the ways to make sure your growing medium is the healthiest, and most nutrient-rich it can be:

Check for earthworm activity

It’s a very good indicator of soil health, so finding a lot of these creatures is a good sign that your soil is in robust health. Earthworms do an amazing job aerating and feeding the ground and should be welcomed in with open, enthusiastic (probably muddy) arms. Seeing them close up also provides a greater understanding of the beneficial role they play and highlights the importance of being gentle if you do have to dig or move soil.

Get composting

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2018 من Country Smallholding.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2018 من Country Smallholding.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من COUNTRY SMALLHOLDING مشاهدة الكل
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Country Smallholding

The Secret World Of The Honey Bee

Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Tip the light fantastic
Country Smallholding

Tip the light fantastic

The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020
The legacy of The Good Life
Country Smallholding

The legacy of The Good Life

The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century

time-read
10 mins  |
November 2020
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
Country Smallholding

‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'

A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
Tools of the trade
Country Smallholding

Tools of the trade

In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Country Smallholding

The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world

Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020
Buying on a tight budget
Country Smallholding

Buying on a tight budget

As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
Crazy for crafts
Country Smallholding

Crazy for crafts

In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
Game on
Country Smallholding

Game on

A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding

1975 And All That

Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2020