Feeding life below ground Building a Healthy Soil in Your Backyard Orchard

摘要

Why cover your ground? During the summer, naked soil is hot soil. Because of this the soil dries out much faster, requiring much more watering, and the important biological life within it is dramatically reduced. The soil also remains exposed to the elements, which will eventually make it harder for water to percolate down below the surface.In orchards, cover crops (especially mixed species cover crops) can greatly improvea soil's water percolation, water-holding capacity, nutrient cycling and protection from overheating and erosion. The physical biomass provided by cover crops also prevents raindrops from eroding soils as it cushions the impact of the rain, and prevents"soil capping." Soil capping is what causes a majority of the water to run off instead of percolating.