Soil: What is it & Why does it matter?

This article really is a high level summary of soil and it’s intention is both to share some recent research and hopefully raise interest amongst readers of the importance and depth of soil!

OK firstly what is soil not. Soil is not dirt. Dirt is displaced soil, soil that is somewhere it should not be. Every soil article seems to discuss this so let’s get it out the way as it’s really not that interesting.

This article is looking at Soil from a growing/farming perspective vs a civil engineering or geological perspective.

What is soil then?

Soil is:

• Minerals from Weathered Rock.
• Air & Water
• Organic Matter

Soil is the mixture of minerals, organic matter, water and air which can support life.

We can use a nice pie chart to show the ratios of content.

Ok so let’s look a bit more at each of these:

• Water: 25% of the soil is water (assuming a balanced soil or Loam)
• Air: 25% of the soil is air, this is critical for water access…