Soil is a vitally important part of all of our lives. It provides the foundation for us to build roads and houses. It provides building materials for our homes and businesses. It holds and provides nutrients for plant growth.
Some soils are better at holding nutrients than others. There are three basic types of soils – sand, silt and clay. Sandy soils tend to leach nutrients quickly. Clay soils sometimes can bind nutrients too tightly. Silt soils are intermediate between these two. Of course, our soils are typically a mixture of these three types, making each soil very unique.
There is one major improvement that we can make in all soils that help increase our soil quality. We can encourage the accumulation of soil organic matter.
Soil organic matter is the organic component of soil, consisting of three primary parts including small (fresh) plant residues and small living soil organisms, decomposing (active) organic matter, and stable organic matter (humus).
Soil organic matter is important because it:
•Improves soil fertility.
•Improves water holding capacity.
•Improves nutrient holding capacity.
•Improves biodiversity of microorganisms.
We can accumulate soil organic matter by:
•Using cover crops instead of allowing soil to sit uncovered for seasons.
•Soil test and apply fertilizers properly.
•Reduce tillage.
•Prevent topsoil erosion.
•Rotate crops and plant perennial forages on resting lands.
For more information about soil quality, you can give me a call at 689-5850 or email me at bearden@ufl.edu.
Jennifer Bearden is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Easy ways to increase soil quality