What’s in your soil

Healthy soil is critical for a farmer’s crop growth and yield, especially in challenging growing seasons. We all know this fact. Creating and maintaining healthy soils, however, requires an understanding of soil structure, the plants it supports, and how to cultivate a fertile environment for your crops. 

The composition of soil can be broken down into three basic properties, each with an important function:

1. Organic matter 1- 5% : The smallest percentage, but just as important, is the topmost layer of decomposing residue that contains nutrients, valuable organisms and microbial activity. 
2. Solids 45% : Made up of sand, silt and clay in varying amounts, this can also be called your soil’s texture. Understanding the texture of your soil and the difference in its particles can help you learn about possible restrictions to crop growth.
3. Porespace 50% : Open spaces in the soil that contain air and water. Porespace and the soil structure affects how quickly and how much water moves through the soil.

But that description of soil components is a bit dry -  your soil is a complex biological environment that creates sustainability as well as productivity, so think of it more like a sponge. It is best if it’s porous, with the ability to drain excess water, but can also hold a large amount of water as well and can supply the crops with this water when necessary over time. 

Your soil’s structure, fertility and sustainability can be renewed or degraded over time with certain management practices like tillage, residue removal/burning, adding organic matter and stimulating biological activity - all which change the soil structure. For example, it is well documented and researched that tillage harms soil structure, aggregation, biological activity, infiltration, water holding capacity and rooting depth. On the other hand, adding carbon back into your soil through methods such as planting cover crops will help build up soil and create an ideal environment for future growth. Cover crops are a great way to combat various challenges including soil compaction and they also earn you carbon credits.

At Indigo, we offer a variety of agronomic tools through the Learn Library to help you with carbon farming methods to get the best out of your soil. Plus, you can sign up for our free instructional Carbon College videos to learn carbon farming principles, or chat personally with an agronomist by clicking the chat box in the bottom right of your screen. 

As part of the Carbon by Indigo program, learn how carbon farming can improve soils and increase profitability.