Got dirt? Nah, soil!

Soil is pretty underappreciated in our daily lives.

In all honesty, I never really thought the soil was anything until I started planting. I'd refer the soil to dirt and make mud pancakes with it when I was bored(as a six year old).

Since time has past and I started my journey in gardening, I have found that the quality of soil is starting to degrade and also change with time.

But What Is Soil Quality?

So we all know that plants take in nutrients and water from the soil to grow. However, the combination of nutrients, regulating temperatures, and cleaning water all in a habitual ecosystem for organisms is what makes soil quality important. Not only do you look at the nutrient levels, the amount of CO2 released from the soil, but also the habitats that inhabit the environment. Like a good-old earth worm. Earthworms are great for soil fertility, enhancing microbial activity, and loosening the soil. Of course, this also depends on the weight of the soil(ratio of clay to sand)

How about Healthy Soil?

A lot of the soil health goes to worms and as the Scientific Reports Journal states, "earthworms stimulate plant growth predominantly through releasing nitrogen locked away in residue and soil organic matter" which evidently shows the role of worms. Nonetheless, worms are the only organisms that help with soil health! Bacteria and other surface level insects play a role too.

Soil microorganisms release nutrients from digesting organic matter which returns carbon and nutrients back into the soil. Although heavy clay soil like our beds have poor drainage, there are still remedies to that through the addition of compost! Even though clay heavy soil isn't the most optimal state, you can tell it's still nutrient heavy if moss is growing on the top(as Mrs. Paulson has stated).

Cites :

Van Groenigen, Jan Willem et al. “Earthworms increase plant production: a meta-analysis.” Scientific reports vol. 4 6365. 15 Sep. 2014, doi:10.1038/srep06365