Healthy soil is not only important in your yard, but across the entire ecosystem. It gives us clean oxygen, water, plant material, food for animals, and is an essential part of all of our lives. It does this by regulating water, and managing the distribution of its nutrients. Clean soil also filters possible pollutants and provides a stable environment for plant material. As you can see, soil is an intricate part of our world, and can be very complex. Lucky for you, we are here to focus on the soil in your yard. This is the soil your children play on, your plants grow in, and your home sits upon. The health of this soil should be of the utmost importance to you. There are many ways to manage it, so we wanted to go over all the nuances right here.
Importance of Soil Health
We have been over a more macro view of why soil health is generally important in the world, but why is it important within your yard? Your soil is the lifeblood of your lawn, and healthy soil is crucial to healthy growth of your plant material and effective irrigation. Soil is made up of organic matter, and the nutrients that reside in this organic matter feed your grass, plants, shrubs, and trees. Soil is also variable depending on the area, so knowing the specifics of your soil is critical to keeping it healthy.
Getting a Soil Test
The first step in getting the specifics of your soil, is getting a soil test. A soil test will help you adequately choose a fertilizer, which will be the best way to feed your soil, and give it the nutrients it can’t find elsewhere. Typically a soil test will give you the type of soil, and composition.
Maintaining your Soil
When it comes to maintaining your soil, the go-to is always going to be fertilizer. General soil fertilizers are usually going to be labeled with a series of three numbers. For example: “5-5-5.” The first number represents nitrogen, the second phosphorus, and the third number is nitrogen. These compounds are great for your soil. A soil test will let you know how much you need of all three. Because fertilizer application can be very delicate, we recommend the use of a professional. Secondarily, you can also make use of lime. Lime is agricultural limestone, which helps regulate the pH of the soil, especially in humid areas like the northeast. A healthy pH leads to healthier soil, which leads to a healthier lawn.
Threats to your Soil
Now, there are a few things to watch out for that can hurt your soil. Compaction, which can result from basic foot traffic. This prevents water and other nutrients from seeping into the soil, as it is too compact. The nutrients can’t get around to the roots, which hurts plant growth. This can be alleviated through aeration. Also, erosion can hurt your soil, which is pretty self explanatory.
Dream Greener Lawn & Landscape is led by a staff of service experts, each with ten years or more of professional experience, focused exclusively on lawn care & maintenance, landscaping and snow & ice management. Locally owned and operated, we are proud to serve the greater Pittsburgh area. Give us a call today at (412) 835-1035.
