Soil assessment 101

What is soil fertility – and how to test for it

True soil fertility comes from the combination of soil chemistry, structure and, crucially, biology. These three properties of a soil are interlinked. In this series we will cover soil test results that are largely chemistry-focussed but have implications for soil structure and biology. We will also go through the ways to assess soil visually and to address issues as diverse as earthworm activity and the root causes of weeds that are present.

All farmers and gardeners benefit from a healthy fertile soil, and perhaps none