Successful farming rooted in good soil maintenance

Since soil is the place in which plants are anchored and from which they get nearly all their nutrients, the farmer ought to pay maximum attention to its sustenance. Soil should always hold the needed nutrients in sufficient amounts to give the desired yields for the farmer’s satisfaction. Various crops have different soil nutrient shortfalls and a plant which grows well in one place may not perform equally in another area.

Nowadays agricultural extension service officers have soil testing kits and a diligent farmer should seek their help to establish the nutrient composition of his soil. This helps the farmer to understand what nutrients are missing from the soil, what fertilizers to apply, and in which quantities.

Mindless human activity on the soil can cause untold soil destruction and render it useless for agriculture. Apart from holding the desired nutrients, good soil should be well aerated, able to keep moisture, and well-structured to allow easy movement of both air and water. Polythene and plastic waste add zero nutrients to the soil and they actually prevent movement of air and water in the soil. They are said to take centuries to disappear from the soil.
Careful farmers meticulously guard their gardens against such dangerous material. Yet organic matter such as grass, leaves, livestock droppings, and urine enrich the soil with nutrients.

It is advisable for a crop farmer to keep some livestock as well, because the two supplement each other. Livestock such as cattle or pigs can be fed on crop residues and their dung or urine can be used as manure.
A farmer should also worry about soil erosion --- which can be caused by running water or wind. One effective method of preventing soil erosion is mulching. It keeps the soil well covered against direct heavy rain drops and minimizes the ability of running water to drive away soil particles.

Mulching has the advantage of keeping the soil moist and when the grass decomposes it turns into manure. Planting trees in and around the garden prevents wind erosion.