The Healthy Soil Project #1: Know your soil

Knowing your soil is the first step on your soil health journey. When you know where it's at, you can treat it just right. No more guess fertilising at the hardware store, no more pests and diseases from overfeeding, no more disappointing crops from underfeeding - steadiness all the way home.

But first you need is a general idea of how healthy your soil is. That way you know how much compost to use, whether or not you need to do something about the drainage or compaction, and if you need to get a lab test. Useful stuff.

You are perfectly equipped to suss it yourself - your eyes and nose and hand will tell you all you need to know. It's no trickier than deciding whether the pot of tea is brewed enough, the undercoat is properly dry or the milk's gone off.

Dig in, and have a look. It's all explained in the article below where I run you through how to test your soil, and then show you how to assess the results. You wont end up with a definitive answer because there isn't one - soil health is such a broad spectrum!

What you're gonna do with your results, is compare them to a list of healthy soil attributes to show you the aspects of your soil that are healthy, and the aspects that aren't. Tally those up and see on balance "oh there's only one or two aspects of good health missing - my soil's not too bad!", or "wow my soil is amazing!" (rare as hens teeth), or "goodness we have work to do!" This is the most common result, but also the most rewarding. Improving soil doesn't take hard work nor is it expensive - it will most likely save you money when you stop throwing loads of random so called "soil food" at your soil, and use all my simple tools instead.

An annual DIY Soil Test

Your soil is unique. It’s history and geography make it so. And because it’s unique, and because understanding your soil is at the heart of your garden’s health - you do well to get to know it. The best way to know it, is to test it. Yourself! With your

Edible Backyard NZKath Irvine

The Healthy Soil Project #2: Sort Drainage + Compaction

For soil to be in good health, water and air and roots must be able to easily flow through. When they cannot because of compaction or poor drainage, soil health never quite lands. Compaction is generally an easy fix, and mostly drainage is too - though not always. For gardens

Edible Backyard NZKath Irvine