We read a lot about soil health and how following the five soil health principles can maintain or improve soil health. But soils vary a great deal from place to place and to be truly successful, it’s important to know what you’ve got to start with at your place. To get you going, here are five articles that can help you and soil get better acquainted.
First, there’s the color of your soil which tells you a lot about the organic matter and how your climate affects it.
Next, take a look at it’s texture and pH.
Can you tell if your soil is healthy? And why is pH and it’s relationship to free aluminum so important?
And while we’re talking about soil organic matter, here’s what some recent research tells us.
Understanding the Two Sides to Soil Organic Matter Can Help Us Improve Soil Health
Finally, here’s a great tool for getting acquainted with your soils and what they can do.
It’s the Web Soil Survey, an online tool that shows you what your soils are and even gives estimates of how much forage they can grow, what kinds of crops might be successful here, and much, much more.
