Living soil

• 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.

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