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Soil, explained. No guesswork.

How to build living soil, what goes in a good mix and how to feed without burning roots. Every figure comes from a published reference, and where references disagree, we say so.

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Living soil Living soil: the complete guide What living soil is, why it feeds your plants, and how to build it in beds, pots and houseplants. Every question answered from extension research, in one place.
Living soil Bokashi: what it is, and how it differs from compost Bokashi ferments food scraps in a sealed bin with inoculated bran. How it differs from compost, how to use it, and the questions research has not settled.
Living soil Coffee grounds in the garden: are they good for plants? Are coffee grounds acidic? Do they stop slugs? What extension research found about coffee grounds in soil, mulch and compost, and how to use them well.
Living soil Compost tea and biochar: do they work in a home garden? Compost tea and biochar are sold as soil boosters. Extension research finds compost tea unproven, with a pathogen caution, and biochar results mixed.
Living soil Cover crops and green manure: feeding soil between seasons Cover crops hold nutrients, stop erosion and, with legumes, add nitrogen. How green manures feed soil life in a home garden, and when to end them.
Living soil Eggshells in the garden: do they help tomatoes and stop slugs? Do eggshells prevent blossom end rot or keep slugs away? What extension research found about eggshells in the garden, and the better home for them.
Living soil Fall soil prep: putting garden beds to bed for winter Fall garden soil preparation without undoing your soil life: what to clean up, when to add compost, sowing a winter cover crop, a fall soil test, and leaves.
Living soil How much compost should you use in beds and pots? More compost is not always better. How much to add to new and existing garden beds and to potting mixes, and the warning signs of too much, from the research.
Living soil How to feed living soil: top dressing instead of feeding the plant Feed living soil from the top: a thin layer of compost each year, and side dressing for hungry crops. When, where and how, from extension research.
Living soil How to get more earthworms in your garden, without buying any Earthworms come to soil that feeds and shelters them. Mulch, less digging and fewer pesticides invite them in. Plus how to spot harmful jumping worms.
Living soil How to improve clay soil, and why sand and gypsum often fail Clay soil gets better with organic matter, gentle digging and no compaction. Why adding sand backfires, and where the sources split on gypsum.
Living soil How to improve sandy soil so it holds water and food Sandy soil drains fast and loses fertilizer. Organic matter, mulch, cover crops and smaller, more frequent feeding fix it. Here is what the research says.
Living soil How to increase organic matter in soil, without adding too much Build soil organic matter with compost, leaves, mulch and cover crops, a little every year. How much compost per year, and why too much compost can harm plants.
Living soil How to make compost at home that actually finishes Mix browns and greens, keep the pile as damp as a wrung out sponge and turn it. Here is how to make compost at home, and how to tell when it is ready to use.
Living soil How to make leaf mold, and other good uses for fallen leaves Turn fall leaves into leaf mold in a pile or a bag, use shredded leaves as mulch, and mow them into the lawn. How long it takes, and which leaves to leave out.
Living soil How to make living soil, step by step Living soil is full of organisms that feed your plants. Build it with organic matter, mulch, little digging and no compaction. Here is how, from the research.
Living soil How to tell if your soil is healthy: five simple checks Healthy soil is crumbly, dark, full of earthworms and roots, and holds together in water. Five simple checks you can do at home to see how your soil is doing.
Living soil Is my soil dead? Signs of tired soil and how to bring it back Soil that grows nothing is rarely dead. It is usually compacted and short of organic matter. The signs to check, and how to restore it, from extension research.
Living soil Living soil for cannabis: what the research says What cannabis needs from its soil: loose, airy, rich in organic matter, a pH from slightly acidic to neutral, and feeding by soil test, from field research.
Living soil Living soil for houseplants: without the gnats or the smell Why living soil indoors can bring fungus gnats and sour smells when kept wet, how to use compost and worm castings in pots, and how to water and feed.
Living soil Living soil in pots and containers: can soil in a pot stay alive? What a pot does to soil life, how compost brings it in, why watering decides so much, when to start feeding, and how often to replace or renew container soil.
Living soil Living soil in raised beds: build it once, refresh it every year What to fill a raised bed with, how deep to build it, why it sinks, and how to refresh and rotate it each year without digging out the soil life you built.
Living soil Living soil vs potting soil vs garden soil: what is the difference Garden soil is dense, bagged potting soil usually has no dirt in it, and living soil is soil with life at work. What each one is, and which belongs in a pot.
Living soil Mulch for healthy soil: how deep, and how close to the stem Organic mulch feeds soil life, holds water and prevents compaction, but too deep suffocates roots. How much to use, and how far to keep it from stems.
Living soil Mycorrhizal fungi: what they do, and do you need to buy them? Mycorrhizal fungi extend roots and help plants take up phosphorus. But most soils already have them, and studies find inoculants unnecessary in most gardens.
Living soil Rock dust for the garden: what the research says, and what it does not Basalt rock dust, greensand and other rock powders promise to remineralize soil. Here is what extension research found, and how thin the garden evidence is.
Living soil Should you stop tilling? No till gardening and soil compaction Tilling breaks soil structure, kills earthworms and burns off organic matter. Why no till builds healthier soil, how to avoid compaction, and when to dig once.
Living soil Spring soil prep without tilling: when and how to ready your beds Spring garden soil preparation without a tiller: the squeeze test for when soil is ready to work, why working wet soil does lasting harm, and how to prep beds.
Living soil Tap, rain or filtered: choosing the water for your soil and plants What the research says is in tap water, from chlorine to medicine residues and PFAS, how much it matters to soil and plants, and when rain or a filter helps.
Living soil What is the soil food web, and why does it feed your plants? Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods and earthworms: the soil food web turns dead leaves into plant food. Here is who does what, from the research.
Living soil Worm castings: what they do, and how to make your own Worm castings improve porosity and water holding, but pure castings can be salty. How to use them, and how to start a worm bin, from the research.
Potting mixes and ingredients Cactus and succulent soil: why drainage beats everything Cactus and succulents rot in soil that stays wet. What a cactus mix needs, why play sand and gravel layers backfire, and the most common watering mistake.
Potting mixes and ingredients Can you reuse potting soil? How to refresh old mix safely You can reuse potting soil if last year's plants had no disease. Refresh it with new material, feed it, and know when to compost it instead.
Potting mixes and ingredients Peat moss alternatives: sustainable swaps for your mixes Why peat harvesting worries researchers, and what compost, coconut coir, leaf mold, bark and wood fiber each do in a mix, with the drawbacks of each.
Potting mixes and ingredients Potting mix ingredients explained: what each one actually does Perlite, pumice, vermiculite, bark, coarse sand, coir, compost and worm castings: what each potting mix ingredient adds, and the cautions that come with it.
Potting mixes and ingredients Seed starting mix: why seedlings need something different Seedlings need a fine, sterile, low fertility mix that holds water and drains well. Why potting mix and garden soil fail for seeds, and when to start feeding.
Potting mixes and ingredients Water runs straight off my potting soil: how to rewet it Dry potting soil can repel water, so it runs down the side of the pot and out the bottom. How to rewet it by soaking, bottom watering and slow watering.
Potting mixes and ingredients White mold or mushrooms on soil: is it harmful? White fuzz on potting soil, mushrooms in a pot, slime mold on mulch: what they are, when they matter, why fungicides miss, and what to do instead.
pH and soil tests How to raise or lower soil pH without guessing Lime and wood ash raise soil pH; elemental sulfur and aluminum sulfate lower it. How much depends on your soil, and why a soil test comes first, every time.
pH and soil tests Soil testing for home gardeners: when, how and why A soil test tells you what your soil needs before you spend on lime or fertilizer. When to sample, how to read the results, and why home kits fall short.
pH and soil tests Wood ash in the garden: is it good for soil, and how much? Is wood ash good for soil? It raises pH and adds potassium, so it helps some gardens and harms others. What extension research says on how much and when.
Feeding and fertilizer Bone meal, blood meal, kelp and more: what each organic fertilizer does What bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, kelp, alfalfa meal and fish emulsion each supply, how fast they work, and why the label decides.
Feeding and fertilizer Does fertilizer kill soil microbes? What the research says, both ways Does synthetic fertilizer kill soil life? Extension sources disagree. Here are both sides, plus what everyone agrees on: salt burn, over fertilizing and runoff.
Feeding and fertilizer Fertilizer burn: how to spot it, and how to flush it out Brown leaf edges, a white crust on the pot or stripes in the lawn after feeding? That is fertilizer burn. Here is why it happens and how to flush the salts out.
Feeding and fertilizer How to read a fertilizer label: what N-P-K really means The three numbers on a fertilizer bag are percentages by weight of nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Here is what each does, and how to work out how much to use.
Feeding and fertilizer Manure for the garden: aged vs fresh, and how long to wait before harvest Is fresh manure safe for a vegetable garden? What extension research says about aged vs fresh manure, chicken manure, waiting before harvest, and pet waste.
Lawns Does your lawn need lime? How much depends on your soil Not every lawn needs lime. It only helps when a soil test shows pH below your grass's range, and clay needs far more than sand. How to tell, and how much.
Lawns Lawn topdressing: sand, soil or compost, and how thick Topdressing smooths a lawn, helps it establish and reduces thatch. Why sand is only for sandy soil, how thin to spread it, and when to do it, from the research.
Garden safety Garden product safety: dust, storage and what never to mix Plain safety for soil and fertilizer at home: masks for dusty ingredients, storing products away from children and pets, and never mixing bleach with ammonia.

Browse by topic

Living soil

What makes soil alive, and how to build soil that stays that way: organic matter, compost, worms and the life you cannot see.

Potting mixes and ingredients

What each ingredient in a mix does, and what different plants need from the soil around their roots.

pH and soil tests

Reading a soil test, and raising or lowering pH without guessing.

Feeding and fertilizer

What the numbers on the bag mean, how much to use and how to avoid burning roots.

Lawns

Soil, lime and topdressing for a lawn that roots deep.

Garden safety

Storing and handling garden products safely around people, pets and each other.

The soil dictionary

Every word you meet in a soil mix, on a fertilizer label or in a soil test, in plain English.

Plant guides

The soil, pH and feeding guide for each of the 761 growing guides, A to Z.

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