Gardening is a popular and inexpensive way to get higher quality produce than anything you’ll find in a grocery store. However, this will only be the case if your garden’s soil is up to the task. One of the biggest problems facing the food supply today is over-worked farmland stripped of nutrients and supplemented with unnatural, inferior fertilizers. The result is produce far lower in nutrients and high in chemical residues. The same plight can affect your garden, but unlike vast swathes of farmland, this is much easier to avoid. Here are some ways you can increase your garden’s nutritional value.
Bring In Topsoil
Poor soil quality isn’t always caused by over-farming. It can also be from natural causes. For example, clay soils contain an abundance of nutrients, but their structure makes it very difficult for plants to absorb them. When your soil quality is lacking, one of the easiest solutions is to purchase a load of rich, fertile topsoil. This provides your plants with superior nutrient availability, and over time, it can even alter your soil composition for the better.
Add Compost
What better way to enhance your garden’s nutrient value than with nature’s own raw materials? Compost is cheap and easy to make, and best of all, it contains all of the nutrients your plants could need. For a serious boost, there are some especially nutrient-dense things you can add to your heap such as horse or chicken manure, worm castings and leaf litter.
Use Mulch
One of the biggest enemies of your garden’s nutritional profile is weather exposure. Soil that is left bare is easily parched by sunlight, dried out by wind and have its nutrients washed away by rainfall. For this reason, it’s recommended that you use a mulch in your garden beds. Aside from protecting the soil, an ample layer of mulch will help keep plants’ roots from drying out or becoming overheated.
Add Soil-Enriching Plants
It’s an age-old gardening secret that certain plants can actually improve soil nutrition. Beans, clover, alfalfa and other legumes fix nitrogen into soil, helping other plants grow stronger, healthier foliage. Some others, like yarrow, sunflowers, parsley, cabbage, broccoli and even dandelions, have long taproots that draw nutrients upward and help loosen dense or compacted soil.
When you grow your own produce, it’s easy to take soil fertility for granted. However, without the proper care, maintenance and knowledge, your garden can lose its nutritional value just like today’s farmlands. By following the above steps, you can be assured of a tastier and more nutritious bounty year after year.
About the Author: Casey is a 25 year old writer. Her hobbies are reading, painting and pretending she know how to write a book. She loves meeting people and making new friends. Writing opens up a whole world of new ideas and possibilities for her.
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