Soil Archives - gardenmyths.com

The Latest Science on Soil Health

Most gardeners now understand that a healthy soil is critical to good plant growth and a successful garden. Many of you are also beginning to understand that it is the soil microbes that make healthy soil. Unfortunately, that has lead to a lot of myths about how microbes should be used. Companies are making this worse by supplying microbial products that have not been shown to work.

The latest science has made it clear that it is even easier to build good soil than we thought. Some of the old techniques still work, but there are new methods that are even more powerful.

plant roots covered in thin film of soil — Well developed rhizosheath indicates healthy soil, from Microbe Science for Gardeners, original source: Fred Price, Gothelney Farm

If you like this post, please share .......

Dr. Elaine Ingham and The Soil Food Web School

Dr. Elaine Ingham and the Soil Food Web School promote a number of controversial topics in soil management and in this post I would like to have a closer look at a number of these.

Key Takeaways

There is little scientific support for the benefits of compost tea.
F:B ratio is probably the result of plant growth, and not a driver for plant selection.
Looking at microbes under a microscope has limited value for gardeners and market gardeners.

diagram showing the soil food web with lots of different organisms each each other

If you like this post, please share .......

Molasses for Plants

This is a hot gardening topic these days and many of organic gardeners are promoting the idea that you should add molasses to your compost pile, to compost rea or even spray plants with it. In tea and on soil it makes microbes grow and on plants it can prevent pests.

Molasses; should you eat it, or use it in the garden?

A family of ginerbread cookies. — Molasses for Plants, source: Йоана Петрова

If you like this post, please share .......

How to Fill Raised Garden Beds Properly

You built some great raised garden beds and now you need to fill them but soil is heavy to move and expensive. You look around for a better alternative and find a hundred suggestions online. Which is the best option?

I started using raised beds back in 1974 and have tried a lot of variations over the years. In this post I’ll combine the science with my experience and tell you what works and what doesn’t, and give you the best option for filling raised beds.

raised bed using 2 x 8 lumber, with no soil — Wooden raised bed ready for filling, source: Laird Kitchen & Bath

If you like this post, please share .......

Soil Calculator | How Much Soil Do You Need?

Automatically calculate the amount of soil you need in both imperial and metric units. This soil calculator shows the amount for both bulk and bag purchase and can be used for any type of material including topsoil, compost, mulch, and gravel. Automatically calculates the soil needed – give it a try to see how easy it is.

If you like this post, please share .......

Best Seed Starting Mix, Including DIY

You work very hard to grow the very best seedlings you can. So start them off right and give them best seedling mix you can. I have grown over 2,000 varieties of plants from seed and wrote the book Soil Science for Gardeners. In this post I review the best commercial and DIY seed starting mixes and give you my opinion on starting your babies off right.

Two hands potting up a tomato seedling — Use the right seed starting mix

This post contains affiliate links.

If you like this post, please share .......

Mycorrhizal Fungi (mycorrhiza) Myth

There is no doubt that mycorrhizae fungi play an important role in plant growth. They help aggregate the soil which in turn provides plant roots with better access to water and oxygen. Their symbiotic relationship with plants helps them access water and nutrients. It is only natural that companies want to sell these fungi to you. Don’t fall for it.

mycorrhizae mycelium attached to larger plant roots — Mycorrhizae fungi (white hairs are the mycorrhizal fungi)

If you like this post, please share .......

Is Milk a Good Fertilizer

There has been a lot of chatter on the net recently about the magical benefits of milk as fertilizer in the garden. Most of the Magic is Imagined.

bowl of milk with a large splash coming out of it. — Milk as fertilizer, source: placbo

If you like this post, please share .......

Soil pH Testers-Are They Accurate?

Every gardening book and web site recommends that you get your soil tested and one of the main tests is for pH. You can get a professional lab to do the test, or you could use one of the convenient soil pH test kits made for gardeners. How useful and accurate are the results of such tests? It is more complicated than you think. Let’s have a close look.

If you like this post, please share .......

Rock Dust – Can It Remineralize the Earth?

Rock dust is a very popular soil additive especially with organic and permaculture groups. It is full of nutrients and it is claimed that adding it to soil will replenish all of the nutrients that agriculture has taken out of our soil. This process of adding nutrients back to soil is known as mineralization.

This seems to make a lot of sense. We remove food from the land, and the food contains lots of minerals. At some point we need to put them back into the soil or else we will have soil that won’t grow anything. This seems logical but is it really true? Is our soil losing fertility? If it is deficient, can rock dust be used to solve the problem? How effective is rock dust and which type of rock works the best? Time to crush some myths about rock dust.

Azomite – a common brand of rock dust

If you like this post, please share .......

Should You Get A Soil Test?

Almost everyone recommends getting a soil test, including most gardening web sites, USA extension offices and gardening experts. I disagree!

There are good reasons for getting a soil test, but the general advice of getting regular soil tests for homeowners does not make sense. Here’s why.

Should You Get A Soil Test? source: ScienceHub

If you like this post, please share .......

Does Cedar Mulch Repel Pollinators and Other Insects

We all know cedar chests repel moths and cedar shavings are routinely used in homes to control insect pests. Based on this, gardeners have concluded that cedar mulch will repel insects in the garden and will negatively impact pollinators trying to get to flowers. For these reasons they recommend you should not use cedar mulch.

Is there any science to support these claims? Does it harm bees? Does it affect ants and termites?

Should you stop using cedar mulch?

Does Cedar Mulch Repel Pollinators and Other Insects

If you like this post, please share .......