Only 5 steps are needed for soil improvement

Only 5 steps are needed for soil improvement

5 steps can reliably lead you to improve any soil according to the Mikhail System.

This is surprising, because if you could see inside your soil, you would find a vast and complex ecosystem, every bit as diverse as any coral reef or rainforest, but of course sadly lacking in National Geographic film makers.

Just like a reef or forest, soil is a Living System that has the same basic requirements and is managed in more or less the same way. There is no need for salesmen or self-made experts; your soil can give you all the information you need. So how can a simple process of 5 steps be expected to do all the things that are needed?

First Get Physical

Of course, the first of the 5 steps will be to identify any problems .

The most important requirement for any Living System is the physical environment that supports it. In a rainforest, we would talk about climate and geology, but in soil it is structure and friability. So optimising the physical environment in the soil is the most important of the 5 steps.

Soil may suffer from a range of problems. They may be soft and sloppy when wet, waterlog quickly and drain poorly. Other soils compact easily or just set like concrete when dry. You might also see soils that seal themselves off with a surface crust or form deep cracks that tear the roots of plants.

The traditional view of such problems has been that the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay making up the soil cause all these things, and so are beyond anyone’s ability to change them.

Fortunately, research done by Ted Mikhail, showed that a combination of five elements – Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium and Hydrogen – work together to determine the functioning and friability of soil. We call this the “Cation Balance” of the soil and it forms the first and most important part of the Mikhail Soil Balance System .

The benefits of optimising the soil cation balance are substantial. With good structure and friability, the soil will be more tolerant of cultivation; it will retain moisture, but drain more easily and remain well aerated; it will provide better access to roots and availability of the nutrients they need.

In short, this one action will make all other aspects of soil improvement so much easier and continue doing so for years. No wonder it is the essential second step in our 5 steps to soil improvement.

The next of the 5 steps is balanced plant nutrition and we must start by finding out what nutrients are presently available in the soil and compare these to the needs of the plants we want to grow.

Clearly we will need to make up any that fall short of this requirement, but if the physical environment is functioning properly, there should be no need to use any more than this.

It is important, however, not to rush into this too quickly as Lime, Dolomite and Gypsum need time to improve the soil . Also, Lime and Dolomite can react with many fertilizers (especially trace elements) to render them unavailable to plants. For this reason numbers 2 and 3 of the 5 steps should be kept at least six months apart!

Last step relates to soil biology .

So now we have the basis of the 5 steps process that, according to the Mikhail System, provides a reliable strategy for improving any soil:

1. Identify the cause of the problem
This should be fairly clear from your soil test results, but we have more information available to help you here.

2. Cations first
Appropriate applications of materials such as Lime, Dolomite and Gypsum to correct any imbalance, along with the time and moisture needed for the changes to proceed. To help understand this, we have put together some notes on how these materials are used for soil improvement.

3. Nutrients later
For properly balanced plant nutrition, the use of fertilizer should start about six months after correcting the cation balance.

4. Biology after every application
To help get the best results from each of the first two steps, using the appropriate bio-active materials after each cation balance or fertiliser application will speed up the whole process.

5. Monitor and Adjust
The effort and expense of getting your soil working right does not go on and on. Repeating the soil test on a regular basis will let you keep things working properly with only small ‘top-up’ applications, rather than waiting for everything to go back the way it was and starting again.

Only 5 steps are needed for soil improvement

First Get Physical

Further Reading