Soil is a precious commodity and the basis for successful gardening. If you want, you can also make nutrient-rich soil yourself.
Soil is a precious commodity and the basis for successful gardening. That is why the range of garden soil on the market is so large. There is potting soil, lawn soil, potting soil, vegetable soil and many, many more. Unfortunately, the names are mostly misleading. If you don't rely on quality brands such as COMPO (manufacturer of biological-chemical products for house and garden), which specifies exactly which soil is suitable for which plants and also explains how you can best use and store it you quickly supply your plants with the wrong soil. If so, then you should buy the right soil for your plants (see practical overview of the types of potting soil here), rely on tested products or make your own nutrient-rich soil that is suitable for all plants.
Advantages of Homemade Soil
The advantage of self-made, nutrient-rich soil is that your plants will later be well cared for by this "he althy" soil and will be much less susceptible to diseases and pest infestation. The reason for this is that the self-made soil is not an industrial mass product, but a mass that is mixed together in a controlled manner.
If you use your own nutrient soil in the garden, you usually have to apply far less fertilizer (including natural fertilizers). Sometimes you can even do without fertilization completely. In addition, the charcoal added to the garden soil ensures that it is particularly loose and also ensures effective water storage. This means that when it rains, the soil absorbs more water, which the plants in turn break down in doses when it is dry.
How to make nutrient rich soil
You should start the soil mixture in late spring and late summer if possible. The advantage is that the temperatures no longer drop below 15 degrees (not even at night) and this means that there is a positive development in theMixture guaranteed.
» Step 1 - Provide containers:
You can of course use the already rotted compost, which you have filled with chopped up kitchen waste and plant remains, for the production of nutrient-rich soil. To do this, however, it is important that you only pile up plant residues in the compost that are free of disease and pest infestation.
You will also need a large container that can be sealed airtight. You will need this for the production of the basic mixture.
» Step 2 - Mix compost, charcoal and microorganisms:
Fill the container 2/3 with compost soil, always sprinkling some rock flour (mineral material) over the mass layer by layer. You should also add a 10 percent share of non-toxic charcoal to the mixture. Of course, you can also use charcoal from your own fireplace (interesting article here). Simply collect the charcoal in the fireplace throughout the winter season or add it to the compost regularly.
Tip: You can optimize such a mixture by adding so-called effective microorganisms. Such approved EM products are available in liquid form in he alth food stores, among others. In this way, they can be added to the compost soil without any problems.
Mix all the ingredients in the container well, then seal it airtight and leave the soil mixture to rest for about 2 weeks.
» Step 3 - Grounding:
You must of course ground the mixture afterwards. For this purpose, you should choose a location in the garden that has natural soil. Spread out the fresh mixture evenly on this natural surface (loosen the soil there first) and then cover it with conventional garden soil.
Finally cover the entire surface with plastic sheeting (weight down with stones) and leave the new nutrient soil to rest for about half a year (e.g. over the winter).
» Step 4 - Use:
In the coming spring you can mix the new soil again with a spade and then spread it out in the garden beds as required.