Soil Amendments: Why and How to Use Them

Soil amendments are any supplements applied to the soil to improve its condition in terms of its physical and biochemical functions.

They are also called soil conditioners, and they are nutrient-rich.

Productive soil is the foundation for every gardener, but very few gardeners know how to convert their garden soil into a productive one.

Healthy soils are ideal for plants as they contain all the essential nutrients required for growing plants.

Soil amendments can be animal or green manures, cover crops, decomposed materials, organic wastes, bio-solids, etc. [1].

However, scientists often recommend not using industrial waste to amend the soil for organic gardening as those by-products may contain heavy metals or other harmful chemicals.

Why should you use soil amendments?

Soil conditioners will improve the soil texture and condition by ensuring better aeration and water holding capacity.

Compost or composted materials, peat moss, coco peat, worm casting, leaf mold, or plant debris encourage microbial activity.

After decomposing, the released organic compounds react with soil minerals and form organo-mineral complexes that ensure structural stability and water retention capacity.

Soil amendments or soil organic matter will increase plant growth by supplying essential macro and micronutrients.

Organic amendments produce organic acids after being decomposed by the soil microbes, and the acids retain large quantities of nutrients and minimize their runoff or leaching loss.

In addition, during the rainy season, you will not have to worry about soil erosion as the conditioners will protect the soil aggregates from the impacts of raindrops.

Although chemical fertilizers are concentrated in nutrients, they can lead to soil degradation by changing the pH abruptly and damaging the soil structure and microbial population.

Even these fertilizers can burn the plant roots if applied too close to the plants’ roots.

Without this, the nutrients released from the synthetic fertilizers are susceptible to leaching or runoff loss, which impairs the water quality.

Types of Soil Amendments

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