How to Care For and Maintain Soil

When imagining your dream lawn, what do you envision? Green, lush grass perhaps, without any bald or brown spots in sight. To grow that beautiful lawn you have to look a little deeper — literally. Healthy, lush lawns have healthy soil. And your soil should be cared for just as much, if not more, than what you see on the surface. Below, we’ve provided a few tips to help kick off your summer of healthy soil maintenance.

Water smarter. 

It’s no secret that we’re passionate about water — and saving it — which is why we created our smart sprinkler controllers to help your lawn and the planet. But these sprinklers aren’t just for your lawn; they’re for your soil, too. It’s important to remember to water the soil enough, but not too much. How much water you should provide to your soil depends on your soil type, weather in your area, and the climate, so it’s important to make sure you’ve done your research and know the best watering schedule for your lawn.

Let it all sink in. 

In addition to knowing the right amount of water your lawn needs, it’s important to make sure that you’re allowing the soil to actually take in healthy nutrients, too. As this article from Planet Natural describes, there are two things you can do to get this process started:

Loosen the soil around plants so it can quickly absorb water and nutrients.

Use a 1 to 2-inch protective layer of mulch on the soil surface above the root area. Cultivating and mulching reduce evaporation and soil erosion.

Taking these steps can help you retain your soil and increase its water storage – something your soil will appreciate!

Much to-do about mulch. 

Like fertilizer or lawn treatments, it can be hard to know exactly how much mulch to use on your lawn. Did you know that depending on the type of soil, where you place the mulch (either below or above the surface) can make a huge difference? For example, high-carbon materials can be damaging if they are incorporated into soil, since they can block soil from getting the nitrogen it needs. However, if placed atop the soil, mulch can, with the help of critters like earthworms and other beneficial insects, work its way more naturally into the soil.

Use natural products for better soil health. 

With natural treatments your soil gets the right amount of all-natural nutrients for your lawn’s specific needs, so there’s no waste and no pollution. This ultimately provides a better environment for roots and plants to grow naturally, and helps activate and feed healthy microbes in your lawn to create living soil plants love, leading to richer soil, stronger roots, and a better yard. Plus, many traditional fertilizers actually over-saturate your lawn with nutrients. Microalgae uses the nitrogen that’s already there and helps absorb the excess nitrogen from previous applications.

The best thing to remember in all of this is that soil is a living organism, so it should be treated and cared for just like anything else in our yard. Without healthy soil, a healthy yard can be quite unattainable, so make sure that you’re starting from the roots and caring for your soil as much as you care about the look of your lawn.