How to Prevent Soil Erosion in Your Garden
The topsoil in your garden contains the nutrients that your plants need in order to grow well. However, that valuable topsoil can easily be eroded by wind and water if you don't implement preventive measures. This article discusses some of the erosion control measures that you can implement in your garden.
Review the Irrigation System
Many people use a rain gun (sprinkler) to water the plants in their gardens. This style of irrigation may promote soil erosion because it can result in large amounts of water falling onto the ground at the same time. That large volume of water may not be quickly absorbed by the soil. The result is that the excess water will start flowing on the surface of the soil. This can wash away the topsoil.
It may therefore be better for you to switch to drip irrigation so that water is delivered to the root area of plants in a controlled manner. This will reduce the likelihood of erosion through surface run-off.
Test the Soil
It is not advisable to apply fertilisers before having a soil test done. The soil test will reveal which nutrients are lacking in the soil. You will then select fertilisers that contain those needed nutrients. This will help to maintain the soil structure.
Randomly applied fertilisers can alter the soil structure and promote erosion. This is because some nutrients may become so excessive that the soil will become loose. Such loose soil can easily be eroded by water or wind.
Explore Permaculture
Permaculture is a type of farming in which different plants or crops are grown on the same piece of land. Those different plants support one another and reduce the need for human intervention in order to maintain the garden. For instance, you can have some plants that form a dense cover on the soil. Those plants can prevent water run-off and increase the organic matter content of the soil when they decay. You can also have deep-rooted plants to hold the soil together. Such an ecosystem will make it hard for agents of erosion to act on the topsoil in your garden. The added bonus of farming using this method is that your costs (on fertilisers, for example) will reduce gradually as the system becomes established.
Soil erosion can be minimised if deliberate steps, such as those discussed above, are taken by each person owning a garden. You may need to ask for expert help in order to control erosion in challenging areas, such as steep slopes.
