One of the most important components for improving soil fertility is organic matter or organic carbon

Organic matter improves soil structure as well as water and fertiliser efficiency, ultimately leading to healthier plant growth.

Most Australian soils contain less than 1% organic matter. Soils with low levels of organic matter have poor physical structure and struggle to hold water and nutrients.

Jeffries Organic Compost

Jeffries Organic Compost is made from composted organic material that has been through a controlled process of natural aerobic decomposition. Sources include green material such as leaves, grass clippings, branches and food scraps. The rigorous composting process ensures that it is free of weed seeds and pathogens.

Key benefits

• Increases organic carbon in the soil, vital for soil fertility
• Improves soil structure
• Improves aeration, promoting better root establishment and plant growth
• Improves water infiltration
• Improves soil drainage
• Improves moisture retention/water holding capacity
• Increases nutrient uptake by plant roots
• Provides microorganisms to inoculate the soil
• Improves plant resilience against disease and during extreme conditions
• Helps keep soil temperatures more constant – cooler in summer and warmer at night
• Makes clay soil more workable and easier to dig
• Makes clay soil more friable and less prone to bogginess

Additional reported benefits include

•     Easier tillage with reduced diesel use
•     More even maturation of crops, requiring fewer harvest passes leading to labour and fuel savings
•     Reducing wind erosion
•     Improved water quality from runoff
•     Reduced irrigation requirements therefore reducing costs
•     Reduced need for fertilisers and pesticides
•     Reduces cost of watering
•     Helps produce an even yield and crop
•     Helps soils resist droughts more effectively
•     Improves fertiliser efficiency by helping to prevent leaching away from the root zone
•     Improves sugar content of fruits and vegetables
•     Increases seed germination rates
•     Produces stronger, faster growing seedlings
•     Speeds up plant recovery after mowing or damage
•     Helps to balance soil pH