Healthy Soil
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Why Healthy Soil Matters
Healthy soil is the foundation for a thriving yard or garden.
It supports strong plant growth, improves water retention and drainage, and reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers. Rich in nutrients and teeming with life, good soil boosts biodiversity, filters rainwater and helps fight climate change by storing carbon.
What Makes Healthy Soil?
Healthy soil is full of life, rich in organic matter, and essential for a thriving yard or garden.
In urban and suburban areas, construction often depletes the soil. The key to restoring it? Organic matter.
How to build healthy soil:
- Adding compost improves water retention and drainage, boosts beneficial microbes, and provides vital nutrients for your plants. You can also take a cue from nature: Leave fallen leaves under trees and shrubs to act as a natural mulch. They’ll suppress weeds, hold moisture and break down into free fertilizer.
- Composting kitchen scraps, twigs, and yard waste at home not only enriches your garden, but it also cuts down on landfill waste and reduces your environmental impact.
Plant Diversity Improves Soil Health
Plant diversity plays a powerful role in improving soil quality – especially in urban settings.
Different plants support different soil microbes, break up compacted soil with varied root systems and contribute more organic matter.
This natural variety strengthens soil structure, boosts fertility, reduces pests, and builds resilience against urban stressors like heat and pollution.
Simply put: more plant types equals healthier, more vibrant soil.
Soil Resources
Have a question about soil?
Contact Whitney Bailey, Senior Urban Conservationist:
