What Are Soil Amendments?

Use of soil amendments improve your garden soil and help you to have a more productive garden, flower beds or raised bed.

Soil amendments are often added to unworkable, poor soil so it becomes less compacted and looser which aids root growth and helps your plants take up more nutrients.

What Are Soil Amendments And Do I Need Them For My Garden?

It can also be added to increase your plant nutrients through the content of your soil quality like carbon, nitrogen, bacteria, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus (the holy grail of garden soil N-P-K = Nitrogen, Phosphorus, & Potassium).

When you enrich your healthy soil with additives, plants can get more of the essential nutrients they need so they can grow bigger and stronger and produce a higher yield.

Additives may also be incorporated into a dry and coarse soil type to help its water retention ability. A moist type of soil helps plants grow stronger because it allows plant roots to extend deeper while growing thicker and healthier. In addition, it also encourages microbial growth and supports nutrient absorption.

Today, we’ll be talking about seven of the best organic examples of amendments you can add to your soil to make your garden more productive. Let’s get started learning how to amend soil!

Compost

Compost made from food scraps, yard waste, and organic materials such as peat moss, and grass clippings are an inexpensive good soil additive that not only keeps your household waste in check but the amended soil also keeps your flower garden and vegetable garden thriving.

It aerates the garden’s soil and improves drainage and water retention. All you need is a compost bin to get started amending garden soil.

To use compost, you need to add three to four inches of compost and the material in your garden soil in the spring and work it in using a garden fork.

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Comfrey

Comfrey is a perennial plant that can be used in a variety of ways as a soil amendment. It is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and many trace elements. 

Its leaves can be used as mulch at the base of garden plants, planting beds, and flower gardens. Alternatively, you can mix its leaves and stalks into your compost pile to activate and speed up the composting process.

You can also use Comfrey leaves as a liner for planting holes and containers where they can slowly decompose and release nutrients helping to amend potting soil.

Worm Castings

Vermicompost or worm castings are the byproduct of the decomposition process of worms. It contains water-soluble nutrients and is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. It is used in farming as well as small scale sustainable, organic farming.

Unlike synthetic fertilizer, worm castings, or worm tea helps to regulate water usage, improve the structure of the soil, and increase the vigor of all old and new plants in your garden. 

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Manure

Livestock manure mainly contains nitrogen that helps condition the soil, increases beneficial organisms, and improves soil moisture retention in the soil structure. It’s best to use animal manure from pasture-raised and organically-fed farm animals.

To prevent potential pathogens from wreaking havoc in your garden, be sure to spread fresh manure in the soil at least three to four months before harvesting any of your crops. Spreading it in the fall or one month before planting also helps avoid burning your healthy plants.

Bone Meal

Bone meal is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as an inorganic fertilizer for plants and as a nutritional supplement for animals. As a slow-release fertilizer, it is primarily used as a source of phosphorus and protein.

Bat Guano

Bat Guano is the accumulated manure of seabirds and bats. It has an exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Apart from promoting strong and healthy plant growth, it can also improve the soil texture while improving drainage and neutralizing contaminants.

A little goes a long way with this soil additive. You can mix it into the soil in the fall or at least two weeks before planting to let the nutrients seep into the soil.

Wood Ash

Wood ash contains significant amounts of potassium and calcium while providing smaller amounts of phosphorous and magnesium. It also delivers micro-nutrients like zinc and copper. 

It also contains a significant amount of calcium, the primary substitute for lime to increase the pH of acidic soils. Wood ash is a natural substitute for lime to help maintain proper soil pH, especially for acidic soil amendments.

A typical garden needs about 20 lbs. of wood ash every year mixed into the first two to four inches of the soil to adjust its pH. 

No matter what condition your garden soil is in, you can find the right amendments and make it the perfect soil. You just have to know which amendments you need and get to work.