The key to successfully grow any particular vegetable is to maintain the physical and chemical properties of the soil at a certain level but first, you must know what type of seeds you would like to sow and find out their requirements. It might sound silly to you but the requirements vary from a tomato to a lettuce considerably and if you don’t take care about those requirements your crop will fail. However, don’t be scared because they are not difficult to fulfill and the basic information is on the back of the packet of seeds.
Vegetables don’t grow in isolation
Unfortunately, there is no optimal soil by itself that fulfills the whole
range of requirement for vegetables, trees or plants and that is the reason why we always add some type of fertilizer to the soil to improve the condition. Nevertheless, the problem with many fertilizers –specifically those manufactured with chemicals compounds-is that they kill the organisms which inhabit the soil and afterwards, their absence is detrimental to our crops. So, don’t concern yourself if your soil has ants, earthworms or some fungi of the genera Trochiderma, because what you are seeing is a perfect ecological system where a symbiosis occurs between the plant and the insects and an unbroken chain between the organic and inorganic matter. Don’t forget what you are doing is not only growing vegetables. What you are also doing is trying to maintain an ecological equilibrium at different trophic levels!
The Soil Paradox
The types of soils vary from clay to sand each of them having different physical and chemical properties. The physical properties concern their permeability and their aeration, which ultimately affects the correct growth of the roots inside the soil and how they incorporate the nutrients and water. The chemical properties take account of the level of nutrients within the soil. The most important nutrients for the plant are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and all of them must in a certain amount for the plant to develop properly.
Additionally, a third variable is crucial for plants and that is the pH of the soil. Don’t forget that the pH varies from 1 to 14, where, 7 is neutral, like the water. From 7 to 1 is more acidic and higher than 7 is more alkaline. The acidity or alkalinity of the soil matters because it affects the rate of nutrient absorption for certain vegetables but this requirement varies from one vegetable to another. . For example, for lettuce their optimal range is from 6.7 to 7.4 and for blueberries is 5.5 to 6.5. Probably, this looks complicated to you but it isn’t because Australian soil varies from 3 to 8 and there are some user friendly kits available in the shops which can help you to test the acidity of your soil.
Contrary to what we have heard or taught, clay soil is very rich in minerals and nutrients; however, its physical properties are very poor. It has a very low capacity of infiltration making it extremely susceptible to be waterlogged and also compacts, which contributes to poor root development and low aeration. Whilst sand absorbs water easily, it cannot retain moisture or nutrients, plus it heats too easily in springtime creating a harsh environment for the roots and for the organisms inhabiting the soil.
The perfect soil is a mixture of sand and clay with fertilizer-never forget the incredible potential of the compost! In case you want to grow vegetables in your garden you must find out first what type of soil is predominant there. Let’s say, for example, that your garden is clay soil, like the majority of cases in Australia. Well what you should do is dig a hole of about 30 to 50 cm. Then, the soil removed from the hole must be well mixed with sand soil and compost. This new soil rich with organic matter and a different texture must be put back in the hole, and watered constantly to create a homogeneous mass of soil. The proportion should be 10 kg/m2 of compost and 2 kg/m2 of sand. Also you can add organic matter, such as, leaves to this mixture and after a while you will familiarise yourself with the different types of soil and how to use them. One quick tip is to tell you that I have used river sand for spinach with incredible success. So don’t be afraid to experiment.
Finally, I strongly recommend that this soil must not be disturbed again, you can add more compost next year but never dig it again because, you will destabilized the fauna which inhabit within the soil.
So there you have it but whilst preparation of the soil looks complex don’t panic. It’s not as scary as it looks, so venture out and have some fun!
Ingredients
