Victorian Resources Online (archived)

Step 3 – How can I improve soil health?

Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 4 | Step 5

Back to Soil health checklist – managing for healthy soil

There are changes you can make to how to manage your soils to improve soil health.

Poor soil health indicator	Management options
Crusting or Dispersion	Improve aggregate stability Increase organic matter Improve soil biology Use ground cover Manage traffic on the soil Treat sodicity
Compaction	Manage traffic (both machines and stock) Decrease cultivation
Waterlogging	Improve water storage Improve permeability of the profile Increase organic matter Raised beds
Erosion	Use ground cover Improve aggregate stability Increase organic matter Improve soil biology Decrease cultivation
Infertility	Thorough sampling and analyses of your soils Treat nutrient toxicities and deficiencies

There are many other questions about possible approaches and options which regularly arise in media and amongst neighbours. Consider the following, and click on any that you are interested in:

What happens to the soil when I use gypsum?
What value is the calcium/magnesium ratio?
What is the relationship between calcium and carbon
How do I work out phosphorus needs?
Can I farm without fertiliser?
How do I read seasons?
Does phalaris acidify soils?
Where can I find "silver bullets"?
What is the effect of fire on soil health?

This page contains material sourced from the Victorian Resources Online (VRO) website, originally published by the State Government of Victoria.

The content is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence (CC BY 4.0 AU).

This material is presented in an archived form and is no longer maintained or updated. It is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon as current advice.

This site is hosted by the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI), Federation University Australia. It is not endorsed by Agriculture Victoria.

Agriculture Victoria does not accept liability for any loss, damage or consequences arising from the use of, or reliance on, this material.