Organic Matter - How It Benefits Garden Soil
by John Yazo
Organic matter is a soil amendment that you add to your garden soil that contains organic compounds. It is decaying material, plant or animal. Animal manures, compost and green manure are all examples of organic matter that provide many benefits to plant life by dissolving minerals within the soil and improving the ability of plant uptake of both water and needed nutrients.
Organic matter improves soil structure and at the same time feeds a large variety of beneficial insects and microorganisms that exist in an soils ecosystem to make it healthy. Having a large population of beneficial organisms in a soil, the less likely harmful organisms will be able to survive. Beneficial organisms feed on harmful microbes like nematodes and other soil borne diseases, and release nutrients back into the soil at the same time.
Compost is the most commonly used source of organic matter with the home organic gardener, and can be made from large variety of organic material. Garden debris, grass clippings, yard trimmings, paper products, along with fruit and vegetable scrapes are only a few materials that can be added to a compost pile to produce a rich humus soil amendment that will greatly benefit a garden soil structure.
Aged animal manure from chickens and cows are two other examples of organic matter that will greatly benefit a garden soil structure. It should be aged for at least a six month period of time before using because fresh it can burn your plants. It is best to add animal manures to a compost pile and let it age and decompose with other sources of organic material.
Green manures also have other benefits that just adding organic matter back into the soil. Alfafa when grown as a cover crop, or green manure, will breakup or loosen a compact soil with their deep root system, while a cover crop like clover has the ability of nitrogen fixation, the process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that is usable by plants. Clover is also beneficial when left to grow as a ground cover to suppress weeds, and prevent erosion. When clover is allowed to flower, it is especially attractive to beneficial insects and pollinators.
Organic matter also is a great source to improve fertility in a healthy soil. Plants need certain nutrients to grow strong and have the ability to defend themselves fro diseases. Organic fertilizers made from natural decomposed animal, mineral or vegetable sources will replenish what was taken from a soil naturally. Organic fertilizers also are slow release sources of nutrients, meaning that nutrients are more readily available for plants when they need them, and with this method of fertilization there is no sudden change in a soils makeup that could harm the microbial activity in a healthy soil.
Organic matter provides a large variety of benefits to a garden soil. Recycling organic material and returning the natural nutrients back into the soil is healthy for both you and the environment, and organic gardens can not exist without organic matter.
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