How to prevent soil erosion

Soil erosion is one of the biggest and most serious problems that anyone who wants to cultivate their garden and / or have a garden can encounter. When a land has been so badly treated, either by the wind, the strong insolation or by the action of the human being, it needs time and, above all, that someone begins to take care of it correctly.

Being the worst thing that could happen to us as gardening enthusiasts, we are going to tell you how to prevent soil erosion with totally natural products.

What is soil erosion?

Before getting into the subject, let's see what soil degradation is, since this way we avoid confusion. As well, We say that a soil is eroded when, due to natural factors and / or human action, sand, rocks and other sediments are moved from one place to another.

To make it easier to understand, imagine for example a torrential rain. This meteorological phenomenon is characterized by the amount of water that falls in a few minutes (on August 27, 2019, in some towns in the south of Mallorca (Spain) about 80-90 liters per square meter fell in just 40 minutes, but this it is nothing compared to what falls each year in India or in countries affected by the monsoon, which is nothing more than torrential rains that fall for several days or weeks).

It is often thought that rain is welcome, but the truth is that when it occurs in this way the water drags everything it finds and leaves it where it can, either in the sea, in the torrents, ... or inside the houses. Consequently, it is one of the causes of soil erosion.

What can be done to prevent soil erosion?

Cultivating in eroded soil is a practically impossible task. In order to grow, the roots need to find nutrients in the soil, otherwise they will dry out in a matter of a few days, as soon as they have used up the nutrients they find in the substrate that they have attached to them.

Therefore, it is very important to first avoid erosion, but if it is already eroded, do the following:

Fertilize the soil

In nature, plants receive everything they need as organic matter decomposes. In a garden this also happens, but on a much smaller scale, so small that it is not often enough for it to be self-supplying. Thus, it is very important to pay it, at least two or three times a year with Organic fertilizers, such as manure, worm castings or guano, among others.

Protect the soil from the sun

The pine bark, the decorative stones or the gravel are three of the best ways that exist so that the ground does not receive as much the impact of the solar rays. In addition, they also allow us to have it much better decorated 😉.

Put plants in your garden

The plants will help, with their roots, to prevent the soil from eroding, because by remaining anchored to it, all the land around them will always remain fixed where it is. For this reason, it is highly recommended to have tall hedges that border the land, and bushes of different heights so that the place looks healthy and beautiful.

Build retaining walls

If we have a terrain with a lot of inclination, it is best to build retaining walls. These will prevent the soil from eroding.

What are the causes of soil erosion?

Now that you know what are the measures you can take to prevent the soil from eroding, you may be interested in knowing precisely what are the causes of soil erosion. In this way, it will be even easier for you to ensure the fertility of your garden or future garden 😉.

There are different causes, which are:

• Water erosion: it is caused by the movement of water, either by rain, river currents or swamps, or the sea.
• Eolic erosion: the blow of the wind on the ground and on the rocks little by little erodes it and gives it shape.
• Chemical erosion: occurs when changes occur in the structure of the rock, as a result of alterations of the alterations of water, oxygen and / or carbon dioxide.
• Gravitational erosion: it is the one that occurs when, for example, the rocks fall, remaining in the lowest areas.
• Erosion by temperature: high temperatures cause the soil and rocks to end up cracking, and low temperatures, on the contrary, what they do is freeze them.
• Human-caused erosion: it occurs when a forest is deforested, agriculture and / or intensive grazing is practiced, and to a lesser extent with artificial irrigation (the use of the hose can erode the land).

Thus, a soil can be eroded either by natural causes or by human causes. In addition, if you have your plot in an area where it already rains little, if you do not take good care of the land in the end it will end up losing all its nutrients.

We hope these tips are useful to you 🙂.