A productive garden depends on healthy soil

Winter is not a typical time to think about gardening. Usually the only thoughts involve

ordering seeds for the upcoming season.  However, soil often can benefit from winter

care.

After a frigid January, extreme cold temperatures appear to be over. Many people are

already anxious to head for the garden. The questions remain. What chores can we do

now and what harm could we cause?

Virtually any soil benefits from added organic matter. Organic material helps soils hold

nutrients. Winter is also a great time provided the area isn’t saturated with water. Too

often we tear up and/or compact soil and destroy its structure by disturbing ground that

is too wet. People with raised beds or sandy well-drained soils have more winter options.

It might be dry enough to apply compost or other organic material, but around here

incorporating it in winter might pose problems. Physically incorporating organic matter

now isn’t even necessary. Natural and gradual influx of nutrients and microorganisms

into the soil is best. A layer of organic material also encourages infiltration and

discourages water and nutrient runoff. I don’t even have a problem with the winter

weeds that might be enhanced. They help reduce nutrient runoff and many such as

common chickweed and hairy bittercress make great table fare.

Contrary to numerous sources, incorporating organic material immediately isn’t

necessary. Only at planting time do I even recommend it. Well decomposed organic

materials are usually the best. We often refer to them as compost.

Composts vary greatly, depending upon their initial composition and how we process

them. Organic materials such as leaves, food wastes, manure and straw break down into

simpler components better if we keep them in an oxygen rich environment. In short, we

want to create an environment to support the good microbes and suppress the bad ones.

Compost quality also varies depending on the degree of decomposition, pH, presence of

weed seeds, concentration of toxic substances like pesticides, and the population of soil-

dwelling organisms, such as earthworms, insects and microorganisms. Higher quality

compost is not too wet, is completely broken down and has good water-holding capacity

and nutrient availability.

Composting is something everyone can do. However, depending upon our garden size

we can’t usually generate enough by ourselves. Local gardeners might be able to acquire

manure from local stables or poultry operations. Getting some early and giving it time to

break down is best.

Fresh manure can be high in nitrogen, which can burn young plants. Incorporating

leaves or straw will lessen this problem, and in the process will decompose quicker. In

fact, while dry leaves and straw have valuable organic matter, without supplemental

nitrogen, they actually steal that commodity from crop plants. Therefore, The more time

organic material has to decompose, the more valuable it becomes. Early application

makes sense.