Tips to Improve Soil Health for Greener Landscaping

Grant Beatt Plant Nutrition Soil Issues

Tips on Soil Health and Management

In the real world of landscaping, there are many things companies have to do to ensure good results. One of those things is soils, especially essential soil health. Many things go into ensuring long-term soil health; this includes PH, chemistry, pest control, nematodes, temperature, ammonia, nitrate. Soil health management is necessary to ensure stable long term desirable plant growth. However, many little known tips have been shown to improve your garden’s overall health. Good soil health benefits include nutrient retention, improved ph, improved growths, longer life spans, and lower maintenance.  

On the surface, maintaining soil sounds easy, but here are some general tips to improve your soils:

• Soil Top Dressing
• Soil Biology Management
• Nematode Control
• Composting
• Mulching 
• Verticutting Thatch 
• Consider Using Organic Fertilizer

Soil Top Dressing and Why it’s so Useful

Soil Top Dressing is the spreading of a thin layer of material over your lawn or sections of the lawn. It is a very effective technique for improving existing soil conditions and providing good places for new seeds to germinate. Soil is improved, thatch is broken down, leading to better water retention and helps seeds grow. Soil top dressing is beneficial for renovating distressed lawns. That’s the most useful aspect of proper soil health management is to revitalize existing landscapes. A great time to use top dressing is when it is still in the process of growing. This helps maximize growth! Top Dressing is amazing in one solution for pest control, fertilizing, thatch control, and general lawn quality. If there’s one thing that can be done to revitalize your lawn, it’s Top Dressing. 

Soil Biology Management and Why it Matters

Soil Biology Management sounds esoteric, but all it really is the composition of living things that can improve the soil and plant growth. A basic example of soil biology in action is introducing earthworms converting organic matter into humus or bacteria, which decompose plant matter for the benefit of all living organisms in the ecosystem. General tips for improving local soil biology are check ph, making sure soil is slightly acidic, minimizing pesticide use, and using organic fertilizers for long term biological stability. Soil Biology is essential for the proper cycling of nutrients, and the basic tips for managing it will go a long way towards having the perfect garden.

Other Useful techniques include composting old materials, grass and paper clippings, and using solid waste.  Compost is a healthy way of environmentally recycling old organic material and tying it into the soil; it’s much more environmentally friendly than using “straight cut” phosphorus-based fertilizers. Still, it takes much longer for the plants to absorb properly. Organic Fertilizers and Composting benefit from being much better for long term use and take up fewer resources, so it’s highly recommended to use them over synthetic fertilizers. 

The Usefulness of Mulching

Mulching is an excellent way of improving general soil health in both the short term and the long term. Mulching has the following benefits: better nutrient retention, soil retention, insulation, water management, erosion, prevention, soil health. Mulching greatly improves soil hydrology and guarantees satisfactory growth. Verticutting Soil-Thatch is very important for allowing water to drain on a lawn properly, allows nutrients and water to reach the roots, promotes water conservation, and improves any lawn’s health and vigor.  All things considered, if it is in the interest to get results and improve long-term property values for your South West, Florida property. 

Final Notes

Consider using Greentech for our plethora of Sarasota soil management services, including top dressing, restoration, topsoil installation, nematode control, improving hydrology, and controlling pests in the soil. Soils are one of the most passionate things, and if you have any questions regarding soil health, don’t hesitate to ask. Renovating a property or in the process of creating a new landscape design? Consider using GreenTech as a sound, experienced choice; we have over 15 years of experience landscaping for South West, Florida. 

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