How to make organic soil to grow healthy plants
Organic soil is the foundation for healthy plant growth, providing adequate natural nutrients, helping plants grow sustainably without the use of chemical fertilizers. By making your own organic soil at home, you can create an ideal environment for plants, while minimizing household waste and protecting the environment. Below are detailed steps to create nutrient-rich organic soil to grow healthy plants.
1. Prepare Ingredients
To make quality organic soil, you need to prepare ingredients of natural origin, including:
- Green manure: These are organic materials such as leaves, dry grass, and chopped vegetable stems. This is a source of nitrogen for the soil, helping plants grow strongly.
- Animal fertilizers: Composted cow manure, chicken manure or goat manure are sources of organic fertilizer that provide abundant nutrients to the soil, especially phosphorus and potassium.
- Vegetable peels: Leftover fruit and vegetable peels in the kitchen are also good organic sources for composting.
- Fiber and rotten wood: Includes bark, sawdust, or rotten wood. These materials help improve drainage and soil porosity.
2. Organic Composting Process
Composting is an important process to convert natural materials into nutrient-rich organic fertilizer. Here are the basic steps:
Select Incubation Location
Choose a cool, shaded location away from living areas to begin the composting process. You can use a compost bin or compost directly on the ground, but make sure this location has good drainage.
Layering Ingredients
Arrange the ingredients in layers, starting with fiber (leaves, hay), then animal fertilizer and finally any leftover vegetables. Keep alternating layers like this until a height of 1-1.5 meters is achieved.
Maintains Moisture
The composting process requires suitable moisture for microorganisms to function. You can water the pile regularly to keep it moist, but avoid letting the pile get too wet. The ideal humidity for composting is about 50-60%, enough to form lumps but not drip water.
Mix And Stir Evenly
After 3-4 weeks, you need to turn the compost pile to ensure the outer layers are also decomposed evenly. Continue this process for 2-3 months until the compost completely decomposes, turns dark brown and has a natural earthy smell.
3. Mix Organic Soil With Other Ingredients
Once you have completed the composting process, you can mix organic fertilizer with soil to create a nutrient-rich soil mixture. How to mix organic soil is as follows:
- Land: Use garden soil or loam as soil. This soil helps provide a solid structure to the mixture.
- Organic fertilizer: Mix decomposed organic fertilizer into the soil in a 1:1 ratio to increase porosity and provide nutrients for plants.
- Sand or small gravel: If you grow plants that need good drainage, you can add a small portion of sand or gravel to the soil mixture to ensure the plant roots do not become waterlogged.
- Kitchen ash: Kitchen ash provides potassium, an important nutrient that helps plants develop roots and flowers.
After mixing well, you have the perfect organic soil mixture, ready to grow healthy and sustainable plants.
4. Use Organic Soil to Grow Plants
Organic soil can be used for most plants, from vegetables, ornamental plants to fruit trees. When growing plants, you just need to make sure the plants are grown in organic soil with moderate moisture and appropriate lighting. For fruit trees or ornamental plants, you should periodically add organic fertilizer to maintain soil nutrients.
By making your own organic soil at home, you can rest assured that your plants will grow healthily without using chemical fertilizers or toxic plant protection products. This is not only good for the tree but also protects your health and the surrounding environment.
How to make organic soil
Making organic soil at home is an effective and environmentally friendly method that helps plants grow well without depending on chemical fertilizers. By utilizing natural ingredients like compost, animal manure, and vegetable peelings, you can create nutrient-rich soil for your garden. Start working with organic soil today to create a lush and sustainable garden!