Composting and fertilizers for your dahlias
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20 February 2010
Soil composition
The primary source of nutrients comes from the 'organic matter' layer of the soil, found in the upper layer. So when we seek to optimize our soil for our dahlias, we must first ensure a good structure of the latter in order for the microorganisms (first 5 "to 7" of the upper soil layer) to be able to ingest the organic matter to feed our plants. But before we go into that, let's try to understand the composition of our soil:
| Element name | Percentage of soil | Composition | |
| Organic Matter |
5% | "Organic Matter is matter that has come from a once-living organism; is capable of decay, or the product of decay; or is composed of organic compounds. The definition of organic matter varies upon the subject for which it is being used." - Wikipédia |
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Water Air |
20%-30% 20%-30% |
Carbon(C), Oxygen(O) and Hydrogen(H) | |
|
Minerals (soil) |
45% |
Major
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Minor (Oligo-elements)
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Nutrients must be in the form of ions (cation and anion-+) in order to be absorbed by the plant. To get this form, soil organisms (insects, worms, bacteria, fungi, algae) must slowly degrade the minerals and soil's organic matter.
Depending on our soil quality, it may not contain the necessary amount of nutrients required by your plants. In that case, it may be necessary to amend your soil with compost or fertiliser in order to provide the nutrients your plants may require.
