Soil is not just dirt. It is a living, breathing ecosystem filled with minerals, organic matter, fungi, bacteria, worms, roots, moisture, air pockets and microscopic life quietly doing heroic things beneath our feet.

For generations, growers have used natural soil amendments to improve fertility, feed plants, and restore tired ground. Before synthetic fertilisers became widely available, gardeners and farmers relied on compost, animal manures, seaweed, wood ash, leaf mould, green manures, crushed minerals, plant extracts and careful observation of the land.

Today, many of those older methods are being rediscovered through organic gardening, regenerative agriculture, permaculture and soil health research. The language may have changed we now talk about microbial life, carbon cycling, cation exchange, biostimulants and soil structure but the core idea is beautifully simple:

Healthy soil grows healthier plants.

Natural soil amendments are materials added to soil to improve its fertility, structure, biology, mineral balance, water-holding capacity or resilience. Some feed plants directly. Some feed soil organisms. Some improve drainage. Some help sandy soil hold water. Some support fungi. Some add trace minerals. Some are gentle, slow and long-lasting, while others are powerful and need careful handling.

This guide explores the main types of natural soil amendments used in organic and regenerative growing, what they offer, when to use them, when not to use them, and how to avoid overdoing it.

What Are Natural Soil Amendments?

Natural soil amendments are organic, mineral or biological materials added to soil to improve its condition and support plant growth. They differ from conventional quick-release fertilisers in that they usually work more slowly, support soil processes, and often improve the soil itself rather than simply feeding the crop.

The RHS describes “soil improver” and “soil conditioner” as alternative names for organic matter, and notes that organic matter improves soil structure and fertility while helping plant growth and yields.

Natural amendments can include:

  • Compost

  • Leaf mould

  • Well-rotted manure

  • Seaweed

  • Green manures and cover crops

  • Biochar

  • Rock dust

  • Lime

  • Gypsum

  • Wood ash

  • Plant teas

  • Compost teas

  • Worm castings

  • Mycorrhizal fungi

  • Rhizobium bacteria

  • Mineral clays

  • Animal-based fertilisers

  • Homemade botanical extracts

In organic agriculture, nutrient management often relies on replacing nutrients removed by crops or grazing with green manures, animal manures, composted materials and natural fertilisers such as rock phosphate.

A regenerative approach goes one step further. It asks not only, “What does this plant need today?” but also, “How can we build living soil for the future?”

Why Soil Amendments Matter

Plants need nutrients, but they also need a living soil environment that makes those nutrients available. Soil can contain minerals but still produce poor crops if it is compacted, lifeless, waterlogged, too dry, too acidic, too alkaline, or low in organic matter.

Good soil amendments can help improve:

  • Soil structure

  • Water retention

  • Drainage

  • Nutrient cycling

  • Microbial activity

  • Root growth

  • Soil carbon

  • Worm activity

  • Mineral availability

  • Plant resilience

  • Crop quality

  • Long-term fertility

The big mistake is thinking of soil amendments as “stuff you add to make plants grow bigger.” That is part of the story, but not the whole thing. The deeper goal is to create soil that functions well.

A healthy soil behaves almost like a living sponge. It holds moisture, lets excess water drain, stores nutrients, supports fungi and bacteria, and allows roots to explore freely. That is the quiet magic we are aiming for.

1. Compost: The Foundation of Natural Soil Fertility

Compost is one of the most important natural soil amendments. It is made by decomposing plant materials, food waste, garden waste, manure, straw, leaves and other organic materials into a dark, crumbly substance rich in organic matter.

Good compost does not just “feed plants.” It feeds the soil.

What Compost Offers

Compost can:

  • Add organic matter

  • Improve soil structure

  • Support soil microbes

  • Help sandy soils hold water

  • Help clay soils become more workable

  • Add slow-release nutrients

  • Improve nutrient retention

  • Encourage worms and beneficial organisms

FAO describes compost as a valuable fertiliser in organic farming and encourages the composting or incorporation of crop residues rather than burning them.

Best Uses for Compost

Use compost:

  • As a mulch around vegetables, fruit bushes and trees

  • To improve new beds

  • In no-dig systems

  • Around perennials

  • As part of seed and potting mixes, when mature and sieved

  • To restore tired allotment soil

  • As a base amendment in market gardens

A common approach is to apply compost as a surface mulch and let worms, fungi, weather and time incorporate it. This protects the soil surface and avoids unnecessary disturbance.

When Not to Use Compost: Avoid using immature compost around sensitive seedlings, as it may contain unstable materials that temporarily tie up nitrogen or damage roots. Also, be careful with compost made from contaminated materials, diseased plants, persistent herbicide residues or weed seeds that have not been destroyed through hot composting.

How to Avoid Overdoing Compost: Compost is gentle, but it is still possible to overapply it. Too much compost, especially nutrient-rich compost, can lead to excess phosphorus or overly lush growth. For most gardens, regular modest applications are better than dumping huge quantities at once.

Think of compost as a steady diet, not a binge.

2. Leaf Mould: Woodland Wisdom for Soil Structure

Leaf mould is made from decomposed autumn leaves. Unlike compost, which is usually driven by bacteria and heat, leaf mould is more fungal and slow.

The RHS describes leaf mould as an invaluable free soil conditioner made from decaying leaves, particularly oak, beech or hornbeam leaves.

What Leaf Mould Offers

Leaf mould is excellent for:

  • Improving soil structure

  • Supporting fungal life

  • Increasing water retention

  • Making seed compost mixes

  • Mulching woodland plants

  • Improving sandy soil

  • Creating a soft, crumbly texture

It is usually not a strong fertiliser. Its value is more about soil texture, moisture and biology.

Best Uses for Leaf Mould

Use leaf mould:

  • As a mulch around fruit bushes

  • In woodland gardens

  • Around perennials

  • In seed mixes, when well rotted

  • To improve sandy or tired soil

  • Around trees and shrubs

When Not to Use Leaf Mould: Do not expect leaf mould to feed hungry crops like tomatoes, squash or brassicas on its own. It is a soil conditioner rather than a complete fertiliser.

How to Avoid Overdoing It: Leaf mould is forgiving. The main caution is to avoid collecting leaves from polluted roadsides or using diseased leaves, where problems may persist.

3. Well-Rotted Manure: Ancient Fertility from Animals

Animal manure is one of the oldest soil amendments used by farmers. Cattle, horse, sheep, goat, pig, and poultry manures have all been used historically to restore fertility to the land.

FAO notes that organic manures, including farmyard manure, compost and green manure, are among the oldest and most widely practised means of nutrient replenishment.

What Manure Offers

Manure can provide:

  • Nitrogen

  • Phosphorus

  • Potassium

  • Organic matter

  • Microbial activity

  • Improved soil structure

  • Better water retention

Different manures behave differently. Poultry manure is usually much stronger than cow or horse manure. Horse manure often contains bedding material such as straw or wood shavings. Cow manure is generally slower and more balanced.

Best Uses for Manure

Use well-rotted manure:

  • On vegetable beds before hungry crops

  • Around fruit trees and bushes

  • On rhubarb, squash, courgettes and brassicas

  • As part of compost heaps

  • On poor soils needing organic matter

**When Not to Use Manure: **Avoid fresh manure directly around crops, especially root crops and leafy crops eaten raw. Fresh manure can be too strong, may scorch plants, and may carry pathogens or weed seeds.

Also, be cautious with horse manure because some batches may contain persistent herbicide residues from treated hay or pasture. These residues can damage sensitive crops such as tomatoes, beans and potatoes.

How to Avoid Overdoing Manure: More manure is not always better. Too much can lead to nutrient imbalances, excessive leafy growth, increased pollution risk, and soft, pest-prone plants. Use it strategically for hungry crops and combine it with compost, leaf mould and living roots rather than relying on manure alone.

4. Seaweed: Coastal Minerals and Plant Resilience

Seaweed has been used by coastal communities for centuries as a soil improver, mulch and plant feed. In the UK and Ireland, seaweed was traditionally gathered from beaches and applied to fields, potato plots and gardens.

Common seaweeds used in gardening include:

  • Bladderwrack - Fucus vesiculosus

  • Knotted wrack - Ascophyllum nodosum

  • Serrated wrack - Fucus serratus

  • Kelp species - Laminaria spp.

  • Sea lettuce - Ulva lactuca

What Seaweed Offers

Seaweed can provide:

  • Potassium

  • Trace minerals

  • Organic matter

  • Natural plant compounds

  • Soil conditioning effects

  • Support for plant stress tolerance

Modern research often discusses seaweed extracts as biostimulants. A 2021 review described seaweed extracts as having phytostimulatory properties that can improve growth and yield in several crops. A 2025 systematic review also noted their potential for germination, growth, biomass, yield and resilience, while stressing the need for further work on extraction methods, mechanisms and economic feasibility.

Best Uses for Seaweed

Use seaweed:

  • As a winter mulch, where legally and ethically collected

  • In compost heaps

  • As a liquid seaweed feed

  • Around fruiting crops

  • For stressed plants

  • In market garden transplant systems

  • As a foliar spray, when using approved commercial extracts

**When Not to Use Seaweed: **Do not strip living seaweed from rocks without permission. Seaweed is habitat, food and shelter for coastal wildlife. Collection rules vary, and some areas are protected.

Also, avoid applying large amounts of salty fresh seaweed directly around delicate plants. Rain-washed seaweed or composted seaweed is usually safer.

How to Avoid Overdoing Seaweed: Seaweed is best used as part of a broader soil fertility plan. It is not a complete fertiliser and should not replace compost, organic matter or balanced nutrient management.

5. Green Manures and Cover Crops: Growing Fertility in Place

Green manures are plants grown not for harvest, but to protect and improve the soil. In farming, they are often called cover crops.

Examples include:

  • Red clover - Trifolium pratense

  • White clover - Trifolium repens

  • Common vetch - Vicia sativa

  • Field beans - Vicia faba

  • Phacelia - Phacelia tanacetifolia

  • Mustard - Sinapis alba

  • Buckwheat - Fagopyrum esculentum

  • Rye - Secale cereale

  • Oats - Avena sativa

  • Chicory - Cichorium intybus

  • Ribwort plantain - Plantago lanceolata

What Green Manures Offer

Green manures can:

  • Protect bare soil

  • Reduce erosion

  • Feed soil organisms

  • Add organic matter

  • Improve soil structure

  • Fix nitrogen, if legumes are used

  • Suppress weeds

  • Support pollinators

  • Improve root channels

  • Reduce nutrient leaching

NRCS states that cover crops can improve soil health, enhance water availability, control erosion, suppress weeds, pests and diseases, and increase biodiversity. SARE also highlights that cover crops feed soil organisms, increase earthworms, build soil carbon and improve nutrient and moisture availability.

Best Uses for Green Manures

Use green manures:

  • Over winter on bare beds

  • Between cash crops

  • In orchards

  • In market garden rotations

  • On compacted ground

  • In new growing areas

  • As living mulches

  • In herbal leys

When Not to Use Green Manures: Avoid green manures when they will become weeds, set seed, harbour pests, or delay planting. Mustard, for example, is a brassica, so it may not be ideal in a rotation already heavy with cabbage, kale and broccoli.

Green manures can also compete with crops if not managed properly.

How to Avoid Overdoing Green Manures: Choose the right plant for the right job. A winter rye cover crop can produce a lot of biomass, but may be difficult to terminate in a small garden. Buckwheat is fast and easy in summer. Clover is excellent, but can become persistent. Phacelia is beautiful, bee-friendly and usually easy to manage.

The trick is not just growing a cover crop. It is knowing how and when to end it.

6. Biochar: Ancient Carbon for Modern Soil Health

Biochar is a charcoal-like material made by heating biomass in a low-oxygen environment. It is often linked to ancient Amazonian terra preta soils, where charcoal, organic waste, bones, pottery, and other materials contributed to unusually fertile, dark soils.

What Biochar Offers

Biochar can:

  • Add stable carbon

  • Improve nutrient retention

  • Support microbial habitat

  • Improve water retention in some soils

  • Reduce nutrient leaching

  • Improve soil structure in certain conditions

A 2020 meta-analysis found that biochar generally reduced soil bulk density and increased plant-available water, although effects depended on soil texture and conditions.

Best Uses for Biochar

Use biochar:

  • In sandy soils needing nutrients and water retention

  • In compost heaps

  • Mixed with worm castings or compost

  • In tree planting

  • In long-term soil-building systems

  • In potting mixes at modest rates

The golden rule is to charge biochar before use. Fresh biochar can temporarily absorb nutrients from the soil. Charging means mixing it with compost, urine, manure, worm leachate, compost tea or liquid feed before applying it.

When Not to Use Biochar: Avoid adding large amounts of raw, uncharged biochar directly to planting beds. Also, be cautious with poor-quality biochar made from contaminated materials.

**How to Avoid Overdoing Biochar: **Biochar is long-lasting. That is its strength and its danger. Add it gradually. Once it is in the soil, it is not easy to remove.

7. Rock Dust: Remineralising the Soil

Rock dust is finely ground rock used as a mineral amendment. Basalt rock dust is especially popular in regenerative and organic circles because it contains a range of minerals and weathers gradually in soil.

What Rock Dust Offers

Rock dust may provide:

  • Trace minerals

  • Silicon

  • Calcium, magnesium or iron, depending on rock type

  • Slow-release mineral nutrition

  • Potential pH effects, depending on the material

  • Long-term remineralisation

Research on rock dust is mixed and context-dependent. A review of rock dust as an agricultural soil amendment found that basalt and volcanic rocks generally performed better than granite or feldspar-rich rocks. Newer research on basalt rock dust in upland rice suggests it may improve pH, reduce acidity, increase silicon availability and support residual fertility effects over time.

Best Uses for Rock Dust

Use rock dust:

  • In compost heaps

  • On depleted soils

  • Around fruit trees

  • In market garden systems

  • With compost and organic matter

  • As part of long-term mineral balancing

**When Not to Use Rock Dust: **Do not expect rock dust to act like a fast fertiliser. It releases nutrients slowly and may show little immediate effect, especially in soils that are already mineral-rich.

How to Avoid Overdoing Rock Dust: Test your soil where possible, especially before repeatedly applying mineral amendments. Rock dust is not magic fairy powder, despite what some enthusiastic corners of the internet may suggest. Useful? Potentially. Instant miracle? No.

8. Mineral Amendments: Lime, Gypsum, Wood Ash and Clay

Mineral amendments can be extremely useful, but they need more caution than compost or leaf mould because they can alter soil chemistry.

Lime

Garden lime is usually calcium carbonate. It raises soil pH and adds calcium.

Use lime when:

  • The soil is too acidic

  • Brassicas are struggling

  • Clubroot risk needs managing

  • A soil test confirms low pH

Avoid lime around acid-loving plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons and azaleas.

Gypsum

Gypsum is calcium sulphate. It adds calcium and sulphur without significantly raising pH.

Use gypsum when:

  • Calcium is needed, but pH is already acceptable

  • Soil structure problems are linked to sodicity

  • Sulphur is deficient

It is not a universal clay-buster, despite the popular myth.

Wood Ash

Wood ash contains potassium and has a liming effect. It can be useful in small amounts around fruiting plants, but it is alkaline and can easily be overused.

Use wood ash:

  • Sparingly

  • From untreated wood only

  • Around fruit trees or compost heaps

  • Where potassium is needed

Avoid it on alkaline soils and around acid-loving plants.

Clay Minerals

Bentonite and zeolite are sometimes used to improve nutrient and water-holding capacity, especially in sandy soils. They may help increase cation exchange capacity, but they work best alongside compost and organic matter.

How to Avoid Overdoing Mineral Amendments: Minerals are powerful because they change the chemistry of the soil. Test first where possible. Apply modestly. Keep records. Do not blindly apply lime, wood ash, and other alkaline amendments every year.

9. Plant Teas and Botanical Extracts

Plant teas are homemade liquid feeds or extracts made by soaking plants in water. They are popular in organic gardening, permaculture and natural farming.

Common plant teas include:

  • Comfrey tea - Symphytum officinale / Symphytum × uplandicum

  • Nettle tea - Urtica dioica

  • Horsetail tea - Equisetum arvense

  • Dandelion tea - Taraxacum officinale

  • Yarrow tea - Achillea millefolium

  • Willow water - Salix spp.

What Plant Teas Offer

Plant teas may provide:

  • Soluble nutrients

  • Potassium

  • Nitrogen

  • Trace minerals

  • Plant compounds

  • Mild biostimulant effects

  • A way to cycle weeds and wild plants back into the garden

Comfrey is often used for potassium-rich feeds, especially for tomatoes and fruiting crops. Nettles are commonly used for nitrogen-rich feeds to support leafy growth.

Best Uses for Plant Teas

Use plant teas:

  • Diluted as a liquid feed

  • Around hungry crops

  • In compost systems

  • As part of low-cost fertility loops

  • For container plants

  • In allotments and gardens

When Not to Use Plant Teas: Avoid using foul, anaerobic plant brews on delicate seedlings or edible leaves close to harvest. Homemade brews vary hugely, and they can smell like something crawled into a bucket and made poor life choices.

How to Avoid Overdoing Plant Teas: Dilute well. Apply a little and often rather than a strong and often. Remember that liquid feeds do not replace organic matter. They are supplements, not the foundation.

10. Compost Tea and Worm Extracts

Compost tea is made by steeping compost in water. Aerated compost tea uses oxygen and sometimes microbial foods such as molasses. Worm tea, worm leachate and vermicompost extracts are related but not identical.

What They Offer

These liquids are often used to:

  • Introduce beneficial microbes

  • Feed soil biology

  • Support leaf surfaces

  • Provide mild nutrients

  • Improve plant vitality

However, quality varies dramatically depending on the source material, oxygen levels, hygiene and brewing method.

Best Uses

Use compost extracts:

  • As soil drenches

  • On compost-rich systems

  • With high-quality mature compost

  • Quickly after brewing

  • As part of broader biological soil care

When Not to Use Them: Do not use smelly, anaerobic, contaminated liquids on edible crops. Avoid spraying homemade brews on salad leaves close to harvest.

How to Avoid Overdoing Them: Compost tea is not a magic potion. The best way to support soil life is still to add organic matter, keep living roots in the soil, reduce disturbance and avoid leaving soil bare.

11. Microbial Inoculants: Fungi, Bacteria and Biofertilisers

Microbial inoculants are products or preparations containing beneficial microorganisms. These may include mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobium bacteria, lactic acid bacteria or mixed microbial cultures.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

Mycorrhizal fungi form relationships with plant roots and can help plants access nutrients, especially phosphorus, and cope with stress. Many plants naturally form these relationships, although brassicas do not form typical arbuscular mycorrhizal associations.

Rhizobium Bacteria

Rhizobium bacteria form nodules on legume roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Peas, beans, clover, vetch and other legumes rely on these relationships.

Lactic Acid Bacteria and Indigenous Microorganisms

Natural farming systems often use fermented microbial preparations, including lactic acid bacteria and indigenous microorganisms collected from local leaf litter or forest soils. These are fascinating, but they should be approached carefully and honestly.

A review on microbial inoculants notes that their application can influence resident soil microbial communities, at least temporarily. That “temporarily” matters. Inoculants are not always permanent fixes, and they work best when the soil environment supports them.

Best Uses for Microbial Inoculants

Use microbial inoculants:

  • When planting trees

  • In low-biology growing media

  • With legumes needing rhizobium

  • In restoration projects

  • With reduced soil disturbance

  • Alongside compost and organic mulches

When Not to Use Them: Do not expect inoculants to work well in compacted, dry, chemically harsh, or lifeless soil without first improving the habitat. Microbes need food, moisture and shelter.

How to Avoid Overdoing Them: Biology is not improved simply by buying more packets of microbes. Build the habitat: compost, mulch, roots, diversity, moisture, and reduced disturbance. Then, the inoculants have a better chance of helping.

12. Animal-Based Organic Fertilisers

Animal-based fertilisers include:

  • Blood, fish and bone

  • Bone meal

  • Fish meal

  • Fish hydrolysate

  • Chicken manure pellets

  • Wool pellets

  • Hoof and horn

  • Shellfish meal

These can be useful, but they raise ethical, vegan, sustainability and sourcing questions.

What They Offer

Animal-based fertilisers can provide:

  • Nitrogen

  • Phosphorus

  • Potassium

  • Calcium

  • Amino acids

  • Chitin, in shellfish products

  • Slow-release nutrition

Best Uses

Use them:

  • When specific nutrients are needed

  • In vegetable beds

  • For fruit trees

  • In organic systems where animal inputs are acceptable

  • As part of balanced fertility planning

When Not to Use Them: Avoid them if you are growing veganically, if sourcing is unclear, or if there is a risk of attracting pests. Bone meal and fish-based products can attract foxes, dogs or rodents.

How to Avoid Overdoing Them: Follow application rates carefully. These are often more concentrated than compost or leaf mould.

How to Choose the Right Natural Soil Amendment

The best amendment depends on the problem you are trying to solve.

Soil or Plant ProblemUseful Natural AmendmentsPoor soil structureCompost, leaf mould, well-rotted manure, woodchip mulchSandy soil dries out fastCompost, leaf mould, biochar, clay mineralsHeavy clay soilCompost, leaf mould, mulch, living roots, gypsum only if appropriateLow fertilityCompost, manure, green manures, seaweed, plant feedsLow nitrogenNettle tea, manure, compost, clover, vetch, chicken manure pelletsLow potassiumComfrey tea, seaweed, wood ash, compostLow pH / acidic soilLime, wood ash very cautiouslyBare winter soilGreen manures, mulch, cover cropsPoor biologyCompost, worm castings, mulch, living roots, reduced diggingDepleted mineralsRock dust, seaweed, mineral amendments, soil testingWeak root establishmentCompost, mycorrhizal fungi, seaweed extract, willow waterDrought stressCompost, mulch, biochar, cover crops, improved soil structure

How to Avoid Overdoing Natural Soil Amendments

Natural does not automatically mean harmless. Too much of a good thing can still cause problems.

Common mistakes include:

  • Adding too much manure

  • Applying lime without testing pH

  • Using wood ash every year

  • Adding uncharged biochar

  • Overfeeding with liquid plant teas

  • Using salty seaweed around sensitive plants

  • Applying compost from contaminated sources

  • Using green manures that become weeds

  • Buying microbial inoculants without fixing soil conditions

  • Treating rock dust as a miracle cure

The best approach is slow, observant and seasonal.

Ask:

  • What does my soil actually need?

  • What crop am I growing next?

  • Is this amendment feeding the plant, the soil, or both?

  • Could this create an imbalance?

  • Is this locally available and sustainably sourced?

  • Can I use a small amount first and observe?

Soil care is a relationship, not a shopping list.

A Simple Regenerative Soil Amendment Plan

For most gardens, allotments and small market gardens, a simple annual rhythm works beautifully.

Spring

  • Add compost to growing beds

  • Mulch around perennials

  • Use seaweed extract or plant teas for transplants

  • Sow quick green manures in gaps

  • Apply mineral amendments only if needed

Summer

  • Feed hungry crops with comfrey or nettle tea

  • Keep soil covered with mulch

  • Add compost around fruiting crops

  • Avoid bare soil

  • Use liquid feeds lightly and regularly

Autumn

  • Sow cover crops

  • Add leaf mould or compost mulch

  • Collect leaves

  • Build compost heaps

  • Apply well-rotted manure to beds that need it

Winter

  • Let mulch protect the soil

  • Make leaf mould

  • Plan crop rotations

  • Test soil if needed

  • Prepare compost, biochar and amendments for spring

This rhythm mimics natural systems: feed the soil, keep it covered, keep roots in the ground, recycle nutrients, and disturb as little as practical.

Ancient Knowledge and Modern Soil Science

Many natural soil amendments come from old farming traditions: seaweed on coastal fields, manure from mixed farms, wood ash from hearths, compost from household and crop waste, green manures from rotational agriculture, charcoal-rich soils from ancient settlement systems, and herbal plant preparations from folk and biodynamic traditions.

Modern soil science helps us understand why many of these methods worked.

Organic matter improves structure and fertility. Cover crops support soil organisms, carbon, moisture and biodiversity. Biochar can influence water retention and bulk density depending on soil type. Seaweed extracts show promise as plant biostimulants, though results vary and more research is still needed.

The most honest position is this: ancient knowledge is valuable, but it should not be romanticised blindly. Research is valuable, but it should not dismiss generations of practical observation.

The sweet spot is where tradition, science and careful growing experience meet.

Feed the Soil, Not Just the Plant

Natural soil amendments are not just alternatives to synthetic fertilisers. They are part of a different way of thinking.

Instead of asking, “What product will make this plant grow fast?” regenerative growing asks:

  • How can I build soil structure?

  • How can I increase biological life?

  • How can I cycle nutrients locally?

  • How can I reduce waste?

  • How can I grow healthier plants with fewer external inputs?

  • How can this garden, allotment or farm become more resilient each year?

Compost, seaweed, manure, green manures, biochar, rock dust, plant teas, microbial inoculants and mineral amendments all have a place. None of them is perfect. None of them is a miracle. Used wisely, though, they can help transform tired soil into living soil.

And living soil is where good growing begins.