Love Your Soil!

Good soil is the key to success on your veg patch

- Kim Stoddart

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