Soil fertility in domestic and public gardens: state of the art

Over the past 60 years the Soil Service of Belgium (SSB) developed a unique expertise in soil analysis and soil fertility advice. Every year, tens of thousands soil analyses are carried out, mainly upon request of professional agriculturists. The soil analysis, which is crucial for an optimal soil fertility, screens the soil condition, taking different parameters (like pH, %C and macro-elements) into account. Based on the soil analysis a fertilisation advice is given. In Flanders, SSB has also been analysing soils of both domestic and public gardens. In these gardens, soil analysis is requested either when new gardens are being established or when poor plant growth is observed. The information gathered by SSB over the past years offers a unique insight in the soil fertility status of the Flemish garden complex, as well as its evolution. Conclusions: • Rich soil fertility in Flemish gardens • Lime dressing: acid → excessive lime dressing • Large variation in organic matter and macro-elements • Unbalanced proportion of nutritive elements • Tendency to lime dress to excess and overfertilise. Moreover, it is more difficult to repair soils with high pH and it is easier to lime dress when pH is too low --> Need for soil analysis --> Balanced soil fertilisation will result in optimal yield and minimal environmental impact