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Maintaining healthy garden soil is easyA healthy garden soil well balanced, strongly structured, provides a ready supply of all plant nutrients and has good biological activity. The first step is to improve your soil balance as this will ensure your soil is well structured. The best way to do this is by using the Mikhail System for healthy garden soil. Here is a reliable 5 step process for organic soil improvement. Having done this, the methods to focus on in maintaining healthy soil include:
Organic fertilizerThere is often a lot of discussion about whether organic fertilizers are really better than chemical ones. The truth is that if you have balanced your soil, then the slow, continuous supply of nutrients that organic fertilizers provide really is the best option. It is important to remember, though, that every action - even applying organic fertilizer - produces some sort of disturbance to the biological community in the soil. These impacts can be minimized by applying the appropriate combination of bio-stimulants. From this point, the maintenance of garden health requires regular monitoring and adjustment of the soil balance, together with the proper use of mulches, compost and green manure. MulchingMulches can be used for a range of purposes, so it is important to select the right material for the job. You can start by reading what Wikipedia has to say about organic mulches. CompostGood compost provides more than just nutrients, it invigorates soil biology, improves moisture retention and helps maintain soil balance. Here is a site that has some good instructions on making compost. Of course, if you use a compost bin or worm farm, you are actually making Vermicompost. Green ManureThis is a useful addition to any companion planting strategy or rotational sequence in the vegetable garden or floral border. There is some good information to get you started with green manuring at Wikipedia.
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