Soil Quality as a Key Factor in Producing Vegetables for Home Consumption—A Case Study of Urban Allotments in Gorzów Wielkopolski (Poland)

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse the quality of soil in urban allotment gardens in the context of the production of home-grown vegetables. The study was conducted on six allotment gardens (31 individual plots) in Gorzów Wielkopolski, a medium-sized Polish city with an average level of industrialisation. The following soil characteristics were analysed: pH, electric conductivity, organic matter, organic carbon, humus, total nitrogen, C:N ratio, NH4+-N, NO3-N−, P, K, Ca, Mg, SO4−-S, Cl, Na, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb. The analyses showed that the soils were abundant in necessary nutrients for vegetable growing. They had high content of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. However, the soil pH in areas of vegetable cropping was too high. The content of toxic heavy metals—cadmium (0.22–0.59 mg∙kg−1 d.m.) and lead (3.46–16.89 mg∙kg−1 d.m.)—was within the acceptable limits. Nevertheless, the chemical analysis of carrots used as test vegetables showed that the permissible limits of cadmium and lead content in their roots were exceeded. The excessive uptake of these toxic metals can be reduced by lowering the soil pH and applying organic carbon to the soil.