Charcoal cannot replace the need for adding mineral nutrients.

Actinobacteria are a hyphae-producing soil bacteria that, in appearance and behavior, have more in common with soil fungi. The spores of Actinobacteria have a distinctive, earthy smell we often associate with rainfall. The smell comes from a compound, geosmin, which translates to "earth smell". The human nose is exquisitely sensitive to geosmin, able to detect it at concentrations down to 10 parts per trillion.

The environmental persistence of these compounds, used as an antimicrobial agent in hand soap, is remarkable. More than a million pounds of these chemicals flow into the nation's sewers every year. Between 50 and 75% of this ends up land applied as sludge. Triclocarban has been determined by the FDA as having no verifiable benefit. Despite a lack of evidence that these compounds accomplish anything beneficial, usage rate is very high among consumers. Among the households I have surveyed, it approaches saturation. It makes little sense to land apply recalcitrant compounds that needlessly get rid of soil microbes. Fomenting the growth of resistant strains of disease organisms is only one concern. Soil functional capacity is largely mediated by living processes. It is the height of folly to jeopardize those functions for a useless consumer item.

Data indicates microbes have more difficulty adapting than previously thought.

plant diversity and low input biomass for biofuel

Edaphology is the study of soil (edaphic) effects. Until about 25 years ago, it was mostly synonymous with agricultural soil science as distinguished from pedology, the study of soil in its natural setting. Edaphology now encompasses the new field of environmental soil science, with its more formal emphasis on interdependent living processes in soil.

Plant disease is a huge and complex subject. This section deals with the principles of disease control, the many different kinds of plant and soil diseases, the characteristics and symptoms of disease, the various ways of preventing and/or treating plant disease and soil disease, the characteristics of the various fungicides and bactericides, the problems with the use of these materials plus an assortment of related issues.

Gardening based on ecological knowledge has a returning theme: 'feed the soil'. Once you have a soil that is rich in organic matter, contains a lot of micro- and macro-organisms, and is neither too wet nor too dry, nursing plants becomes easy. This document deals with improving and maintaining the soil quality of the home garden. Having read this information, you might start associating the concept of an ecosystem with a hand full of soil.

One-page primer on soil texture and soil microorganisms for the gardener. One of several soil articles from ibiblio.org.