The Importance of Soil Biology for Your Garden

What is your soil up to?
To most of us soil is just a handful of dust and particles that are the leftovers of some grinding force somewhere in nature, and therefore seems to be very much lifeless. In fact, this is very far removed from the truth. The soil is actually alive with billions of creatures that are too small for the naked eye to observed. Some of it can be observed by the naked eye like earthworms but the majority can only be observed with the help of a very good microscope, and others only with the help of more advanced scientific equipment. The organisms living within earth soil is referred to as soil life or soil biota. These organisms include apart from earthworms, also nematodes, protozoa, fungi, bacteria and different arthropods.

Soil biology is the study of microbial and faunal (animal) activity and ecology in soil. It will be worthwhile for any subsistence farmer or gardener to have a basic knowledge of what soil life consists of. How plants grow or not grow are very much influenced by the quality and quantity of soil life that they grow in. Following are more basic information and online resources that will help us to better understand this amazing life hidden beneath our feet.

Soil Biology: Why is it important and why does it matter to me?
Rodale Institute Slideshow