How to look after your soil

A few simple methods can help boost the life in your soil to make your plants more vigorous, your garden healthier and local wildlife happier

Don’t dig it

One of the simplest and most effective things we can all do is to use no-dig methods. When soil is dug, carbon is released as carbon dioxide. Not digging locks this carbon in the ground. No-dig keeps the soil ecosystem healthy and intact, creates a better environment for plants and results in bigger harvests. Top tip No-dig gardening is simple: rather than digging annually, spread a minimum of 1-2cm of compost on the surface as a mulch and leave it for the soil life to incorporate naturally.

Pack in the plants

Planting densely is another way to keep soil covered. Flower borders, trees and fruit bushes can benefit from ground cover, supporting a wide range of insects, small mammals and birds. In the veg garden, plant crops that won’t compete too much with each other close together, or use green manures. Top tip Plant smaller edibles such as lettuce, spinach, spring onions or beetroot between larger plants such as brassicas. This is called intercropping and it increases yields.

Get mulching

An organic mulch is a layer of organic material spread on the surface of the soil, at any time of year. Autumn mulches are great for protecting the soil against winter weather and summer mulches help to conserve moisture. By the natural process of decomposition, mulches feed the soil. They also keep down weeds. Top tip Use homemade compost, woodchip, leaves, comfrey or straw to mulch your garden for free. Grass clippings are great for mulching potatoes in a dry summer, giving larger yields.

Never waste your waste

A compost heap is the heart of the garden. The ultimate in garden recycling, creating compost is free and helps to reduce waste. Choosing a composter that works best for you, add roughly half and half greens (such as kitchen scraps and herbaceous growth) and browns (such as cardboard and twigs). Top tip Produce more compost by asking around your neighbourhood for unwanted compostables to add such as grass clippings, rabbit or poultry bedding and cardboard.

Sow green manures

Green manures are a living mulch, helping to increase biodiversity, reduce weeds and protect the soil. The seeds are widely available to gardeners. Sprinkle them in gaps and between established plants (such as brassicas) from spring to early autumn. Phacelia, mustards and crimson clover produce flowers to feed bees and other pollinators. Top tip Choose green manures that are killed off by frost or that can be hoed off easily, so you can sow and plant in the beds afterwards.

Feed your soil naturally

Chemical fertilisers harm the ecosystem below ground, killing soil life. Growing organically is great for soil and plant health. Not digging and instead feeding the soil with organic mulches can mean that no other feeds are needed for healthy plants and abundant crops. Top tip Make feeds for container-grown plants using comfrey and nettles: soak cut-up stems and leaves in a bucket of water for two weeks, strain and use. Grown in a corner of the garden, the plants support a wide range of wildlife, too.