What to Do About Poor Soil Health
Healthy soil is the basis of healthy grass. It’s usually pretty easy to tell when your soil is in poor shape. Pick up a handful, and it may be dry and crumbly, or even sandy. You may notice consistent dry spots on the lawn, or see plants struggling. These could be signs that your soil needs extra help to get healthy again. Read our guide for what can help:
What Does Poor Soil Health Really Mean?
Soils can be in poor condition for a few different (but often interconnected) reasons:
- Healthy soils generally have a composition of about 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay (how different sized particles are classified).
- Sandy soils have trouble with water retention and nutrient absorption
- Clay soils will generally hold onto water and nutrients at high rates
- Improperly balanced soils may have low levels of microbial activity and low levels of available nutrients
- Added nutrients may not be readily absorbed by soils with poor composition
- Unhealthy soils may absorb too much or not enough water, leading to struggling plants
In short, soils without balanced composition or enough nutrients won’t support healthy plants.
How Do We Fix Poor Soil Health?
To resolve these issues, you’ll need to add different soil amendments. Focus on products that have high levels of Mulch, compost, or leaf litter are all derived from organic matter and contain carbon and other nutrients that soils need. A soil test will help you determine macronutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and calcium you’ll need to add. Remember, plant growth is limited by whatever nutrient exists in lowest amount.
Of course, plants need enough water to survive. In addition to a water schedule and a good irrigation system, you may need a moisture manger product that will reduce evaporation and keep water in the root zone.
If your soil has trouble retaining moisture, it may be too sandy, or suffer from dry spots. Look to a product that will help with soil composition.
If you’re still having problems with bad growing conditions, you may need a high dose of humic acid. This substance has numerous soil benefits, including improving water retention and soil structure. Most importantly, it helps plants absorb more nutrients. Humic acid electrically bonds to the nutrients in the soil, and then electrically bonds to roots, which lets plants absorb a greater amount of nutrients than before. Think of it as a faucet that’s able to run at full capacity instead of being clogged with debris.
If other soil amendments haven’t worked and you need the boost of humic acids, we have a high-concentrate product to help.
