Healthy soil equals pay dirt for gardeners

Soil is a hot topic right now in the world of global agriculture, and it’s no surprise as to why. Without healthy soil, we don’t eat. If I were going to go back to school for a Ph.D., I’d probably take up soil science. When I reveal this to others, their typical responses are something like, “Soil science? That’s so boring!” I’m not going to lie and tell you that my hefty grad school copy of “Principles of Soil Chemistry” didn’t induce some early nights. Nevertheless, I find soil fascinating. Anyone interested in food and gardening should as well. That’s why I was excited to discover that 2015 is the International Year of Soils. If you’re not yet taking advantage of this significant promotional opportunity at your IGC, there’s still time to get on board.
 

Why focus on soil?

In collaboration with the Global Soil Partnership, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has been working with governments across the globe to combat desertification.

Their goal is to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and the ecosystem. When it comes to agriculture, intensive crop production and synthetic fertilizers have depleted soils across the globe. To slow down the loss of this non-renewable resource, The International Year of Soils program was developed to promote the use of several different farming methods: agroecology, organic farming, conservation agriculture and zero tillage.

All of these methods can be taught to our urban gardening customers and applied on a smaller scale in their yards. The IYOS website (www.fao.org/soils-2015) focuses on soils and biodiversity and contains a plethora of information for you to share with your staff and with customers online. There are also some well-designed PDF handouts available for download that you can distribute at your garden center and use for workshops. While much of the information focuses on soil and how it relates to agriculture, all of the concepts relate directly to the home gardener.
 

Soil-savvy staff

All of our growing and gardening successes, whether they be in patio containers or in an outdoor garden, rely on healthy, bioactive soil. Just like a solid foundation is crucial to the integrity of your house, such is healthy soil to a garden. That means your independent garden center staff needs to be soil savvy if they’re going to help customers be successful and maximize a profitable sales category. While most garden center employees do a fair job of teaching customers about plants, I still see a lot of opportunity when it comes to offering solid soil knowledge.

Soil chemistry can be a bit intimidating, but we can’t assume that our customers are working with healthy soil in their yards. Most homeowners simply don’t realize that soil is a living organism that needs to be cultivated and tended just like their plants. More than likely, your customers’ soil may be suffering from compaction, poor drainage (or fast drainage) and a lack of organic matter. Asking your customers to bring in samples of their soil so that staff can get a better idea of physical structure is always helpful. For more in-depth assistance, you may want to offer soil testing services. That means your staff will need to be able to correctly interpret test results once the customer has them in hand.

Teaching our customers to tend the soil is just as important as teaching them about the plants you sell. By helping them build healthy soil, they’ll be more successful with the plants they purchase.
 

How healthy?

The term “healthy soil” can be a bit ambiguous, so you’ll need to craft a clear definition for your staff and customers. Technically, healthy soils are considered to be those that can function as a living system. That means the soil will have a diverse community of soil organisms that recycle nutrients, improve soil structure and water holding capacity. Soil should also be able to mitigate diseases and pests and help the environment by maintaining or absorbing carbon. Basically, healthy soil is alive with activity.

Many of our customers, and potential customers, are under the impression that healthy plants and soil are grown simply by applying fertilizers. While fertilizers are a key input for strong, vigorous plants, they should be thought of as a supplement, rather than a starting point, to a healthy garden. Customers are often surprised to learn that when bioactive and healthy, soil can do a lot of the hard work for them. Feed the soil and it will feed your plants.

A discussion about healthy bioactive soil is a great ice-breaker for introducing customers to your array of soil amendments, soil conditioners and DIY soil testing products. For customers who’ve struggled with areas of their landscapes or have repeatedly killed certain plants, the answer may be found in their soil.
 

Amendments and conditioners

The term “soil amendment” can be a bit too vague for our customers, and we need to do a better job of defining what they are. Soil amendments are added to soil to create a better environment for plant roots. Basically, it’s any material, organic or inorganic, that we add to the soil to improve its physical properties. Physical properties being things like drainage, aeration, structure and water retention.

We can choose organic or inorganic amendments based on the needs of the soil. Organic amendments include materials like compost, humus, manure, peat, biosolids or wood ash. Organic amendments are often referred to as “soil conditioners” as they can also provide additional nutrients plants as they break down. Inorganic amendments include products like expanded shale, pea gravel, sand, vermiculite or perlite. Mulch is generally not considered a soil amendment, as it’s layered on top of the soil. An exception is organic mulch, which will eventually contribute organic matter into the soil below.
 

Consider soil subscriptions

Building healthy soil isn’t a set-it and forget-it project. Part of the learning curve for customers is realizing that adding compost to their beds once doesn’t cut it. As plants use up the nutrients that are mineralized by soil fauna, they’ll have to replenish the organic matter. Decomposition rates for different types of organic matter vary; temperature and water also influence the rate of mineralization. If you live in an area with a very hot climate, you’ll typically need to supplement organic matter more frequently.

I know I need to add compost at least once per year and mulch twice per year to my landscape beds. I add compost or manure to the vegetable garden twice per year along with some other soil conditioners. Whether you sell bagged or bulk soils, why not offer your regular customers a soil subscription? Think about pre-selling a set amount of soil amendments for delivery or pick up each season to you regular customers. You’ll keep them on track with a healthy garden and improve your cash flow.

With urban farms and gardens now producing 15 percent to 20 percent of the world’s food, it’s a great time to talk soil with your urban IGC customers. Be sure to stop by the IYOS website and consider wrapping its message into your store’s efforts this year.

Leslie (CPH) owns Halleck Horticultural, LLC, through which she provides horticultural consulting, digital content marketing, branding design, advertising and social media support for green industry companies.  www.lesliehalleck.com