When it comes to gardening, one of the biggest challenges that many people face is dealing with soil that just won’t retain enough water. Whether you live in an area with long dry spells or you just have sandy soil that doesn’t hold moisture well, this can be frustrating and leave your plants struggling to survive. Fortunately, there are some natural ways that you can improve soil water retention and give your garden the best chance for success. In this blog post, we’ll explore four methods that you can use to keep your soil moist and your plants healthy, without resorting to chemical treatments or expensive solutions.
What is Soil Water Retention?
Soil water retention is the capacity of soil to retain water to support plant growth. Water retention is essential for any growing space as vegetables require abundant amounts of water to grow. Soil structure plays a crucial role in water retention, and tilling of soil decreases soil structure, resulting in a highly dense base soil layer topped by loose soil with no structure. This makes water more likely to runoff during heavy rains, resulting in soil erosion, nutrient loss, and flooding.
1. Using Mushrooms for Soil Water Retention
Mushrooms have been found to be an effective natural way of improving soil water retention. This is due to their ability to produce a glue-like substance called glomalin, which helps bind soil particles together. Glomalin increases water-holding capacity and reduces soil erosion. Incorporating mushrooms into your garden can boost the nutrients and organic matter in the soil while retaining moisture. You can either use store-bought mushroom compost or inoculate your soil with mushroom spores or spawn. Mushroom compost is a great addition to your garden if you have heavy clay soil that dries out too easily, or sandy soil that doesn’t hold water well. By adding mushrooms, you can help your soil retain moisture and create a healthier, more resistant garden.
2. Increasing Organic Matter
Organic matter is an essential component of soil health that helps retain moisture and provide nutrients to plants. Adding compost, grass clippings, or animal manure to your soil can improve its water retention capabilities. Organic matter also helps the soil to structure properly and provides pore space to allow for stability. Microbes in the soil break down organic matter into humus, a stable form of organic matter. While it’s difficult to add too much organic matter to your soil, it’s possible to add the wrong ratio of brown and green organic matter that can cause temporary nitrogen depletion, which can harm plants.
3. Tilling Less Frequently
Tilling your garden soil can actually decrease its water retention capacity. This is because tilling facilitates lots of temporary porous space in the top layer of soil but also destroys any soil structure that was in place prior to tilling. The repeated compaction caused by tilling actually leads to the structural breakdown of soils resulting in a soil layer that is highly dense at the bottom and loose at the top, with no structure. When heavy rains occur, water is more likely to run off and result in erosion, nutrient loss, flooding, pollution, and, of course, less retained water for future potential drought conditions. Instead of tilling, try using no-till farming or low-till production methods to maintain soil structure and increase water retention capacity. On a small scale, you can eliminate tillage altogether by using innovative tools designed for small-scale gardening, like a broadfork or tilther. By decreasing your tillage, you can increase the water retention capacity of your soil, saving resources and time while also benefiting your plants.
4. Keeping Soil Covered
One of the most efficient techniques for promoting natural soil water retention in organic gardening involves maintaining soil cover. Soil cover can take various forms, which include the use of mulch, cover crops, or living plants. By covering the soil, gardeners can reduce the rate at which water evaporates, and this can minimize the need for frequent watering, as well as conserve important water resources. Mulching is a well-known soil cover technique in organic gardening. Using organic matter like straw, leaves, or grass clippings to retain moisture in the soil while also providing valuable nutrients as they decompose. Cover crops such as clover or buckwheat can also serve to cover the soil and encourage natural water retention.