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 A soil amendment is any material mixed into soil to improve its physical properties. The goal is to increase water – and nutrient-holding capacity, and improve aeration.
- Many can improve drainage and soil structure.
- Some amendments supply essential plant nutrients.
Organic and inorganic soil amendments can both be useful.
- Organic amendments come from something that is or was alive.
- They include barnyard manures, alfalfa meal, cover crops (green manure), grass clippings, compost, biosolids, sawdust and wood ash.
- Many organic amendments contain plant nutrients and act as organic fertilizers.
- Inorganic amendments, on the other hand, are either mined or man-made.
- These include vermiculite, perlite, crushed rock and sand.
Not all amendments are recommended for every soil type.
- Wood ash, an organic amendment, is high in both pH and salt.
- Fresh sawdust can rob nitrogen from the soil.
You can learn much more about soil amendments, use recommendations and concerns using the Grow Smart, Grow Safe search tool.
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