?? 6 steps to improve your soil

This year, the dual challenge of poor weather and high fertilizer prices has had a huge impact on growers’ profitability. In these difficult circumstances, maximizing soil health and productivity is essential and could make the difference between profit and loss for the crop.?Our expert soil technician, Oliver Borowy , has some simple tips for making sure your soil is in top condition for whatever 2023 may bring.

Step #1 - Dig a hole

It may sound obvious, but the first thing you should do if you spot weak patches in your crops is dig a hole. Have a good look inside your soil; look for signs of compaction. The soil should be crumbly, and you should be able to see earthworms active in it. If you want to measure compaction you can use a penetrometer which will tell you whether the compaction is going to prevent root penetration.

Step #2 - Smell the soil

Healthy soil smells good, like compost. If there is any sour or rancid smell from the soil, then it is likely it is suffering from acidity or compaction. We like to feel the soil too; if you rub it between your fingers, you can feel the texture and see the humus and organic matter in it. Ideally you want loamy, silty soil down to about a meter underground.

Step #3 - Check the pH

pH has such a massive impact on the health and productivity of your soil that it’s worth testing regularly. Remember it can vary across the field, so ideally you want to take several samples in a W pattern. You can send your samples off for laboratory analysis which will give you a broad range of soil health indicators, but for just pH you can use a pH meter. Soils should be in the pH range of 6 – 6.5. Less than that and you are restricting the availability of nutrients as well as damaging soil biology.

Step #4 - Correct pH with alkaline material

There is a wide range of alkaline material available to correct soil pH. Your choice will depend on the amount of pH correction needed, how quickly it needs correcting, and your farming practices. Many farmers apply agricultural lime every five years but there are plenty of advantages to taking a different approach.

Step #5 - Compare reactivity

The surface area of the liming material you choose makes a difference to the reactivity and therefore the speed of pH correction. You can check the reactivity of your material by adding lemon juice to it, which has a pH of 4.5, and look for it fizzing. There is no immediate reaction with dolomite but some reaction with chalk, which is powdered calcium carbonate. With granulated Omya Calciprill you get an even bigger reaction, because of the huge surface area of the micronized particles which make up the granules. You can start seeing a difference within a few weeks.

Step #6 - Apply one ton per pH point

When you have measured your soil pH, if you need to raise it from 5.5 to 6.5 then you will need one ton of calcium carbonate. We recommend spreading the application over two years, applying half a ton of Omya Calciprill each year. This will increase the pH but also improve the soil structure. Remember that fertilizer applications reduce the pH of the soil so you should measure regularly and repeat the application whenever the pH drops half a point.

Watch our video to see Oliver visiting a wheat field to practice what he preaches. Or for more information about soil conditioning and the benefits it can bring to your farm, click here.