Living SoilHave you ever fed a plant, watered it on time, given it the right light, and still watched it stall? Have you ever wondered whether the problem was never the plant at all, but what its roots were sitting in?
Most of us were taught that soil holds roots up and holds fertilizer in. The research describes something else entirely. Healthy soil is alive, crowded with organisms that do much of the feeding for you. This guide brings together everything on this site about building that kind of soil, wherever you grow.
What living soil is
Living soil is soil with an active community of organisms in it: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods and earthworms. Together they form the soil food web, which the research calls the basis of healthy, living soil.
Soil organic matter influences every physical, chemical and biological property of soil. But here is the part most people miss: the benefits of organic matter are only released after soil organisms have processed it. Worms and insects shred it into smaller bits, bacteria and fungi break those down, and earthworms pull organic matter below the surface where other decomposers can reach it.
The big idea: feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plant.
The five habits that keep soil alive
The research puts it in one sentence: incorporate organic matter, till as little as possible, minimize compaction, keep pH and fertility in range, and use organic mulch on the surface. You do not need to buy the life itself. Soils naturally contain decomposers, and adding them to the soil or the compost pile is not necessary.
What soil life does need is food, steadily. Microbes must have a constant supply of organic matter, or their numbers decline, and about half of composted organic matter is lost in the first one to two years after it goes on. Living soil is a habit, not a one time purchase.
Start here
- How to make living soil, step by step
- What the soil food web is and what it does
- Living soil, potting soil and garden soil: the difference
- How to tell if your soil is healthy
Where you grow
- Living soil in raised beds
- Living soil in pots and containers
- Living soil for houseplants
- Improving clay soil
- Improving sandy soil
- Living soil for cannabis
Feeding the life
- How to increase organic matter in soil
- How to make compost at home
- How much compost to use in beds and pots
- How to make leaf mold from fallen leaves
- Worm castings and worm composting
- Bokashi, and how it differs from compost
- How to feed living soil from the surface
- What each organic fertilizer does
- Manure in the garden, safely
- Does fertilizer harm soil life?
Protecting the life
- No till gardening and soil compaction
- Mulch for healthy soil
- Cover crops and green manure
- How to get more earthworms
- Fall soil prep for winter
- Spring soil prep without tilling
Popular claims, checked
- Mycorrhizal fungi: do you need to add them?
- Compost tea and biochar
- Rock dust
- Coffee grounds in the garden
- Eggshells in the garden
- Wood ash in the garden
- Peat moss alternatives
When something goes wrong
- Is my soil dead? Signs of tired soil
- White mold or mushrooms on soil
- Water runs straight off my potting soil
- How to reuse old potting soil
- Fertilizer burn and how to flush soil
- Soil testing for home gardeners
- How to raise or lower soil pH
Where to start today
Pick one habit and begin this season. Spread a thin layer of compost or organic mulch on bare soil. Put the spade away for one year. Keep feet off the beds. Then look up the plant you are growing, and match its soil to what it actually needs.