Soil is often overlooked even though it is the foundation of a successful vegetable garden. Growing vegetables can be tough on the soil as they are very greedy plants and take all the nutrients and minerals from it. This leaves the soil tired, used and almost useless for growing in. Soil improvers & enriching composts can be used to combat this.
View Our Soil & Compost Products
Here is our top 10 (13) list of the most interesting facts about soil…
- There are more microorganisms in a handful of soil than there are people on earth.
- It takes 500 years to produce just under an inch of topsoil, this is the most productive layer of soil.
- It greatly reduces flood risk by storing up to 9200 tonnes of water per acre. In total that’s about 0.01% of the Earth’s total water.
- Soil is a living system.
- Soil acts as a filter for underground water, filtering out pollutants.
- Approximately 10% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions are stored in soil.
- It provides all the nutrients required for successful plant growth.
- Soil consists of 45% minerals, 25% water, 25% air & 5% organic matter for good garden soil. Uncultivated soil tends to be 3% organic matter.
- As already mentioned 50% is air and water, the other 50% is broken rock and decaying plants and animals.
- The amount of sand, clay and silt is what gives different soil types their various textures. Most soils are a mix of all three.
- Soil has 6 layers called horizons O, A, E, B, C and R. Horizon O is the topsoil and R is bedrock.
- Worms enrich topsoil by feeding on organic material in the soil and converting it into nutrients for plants. As they move through the soil it becomes more absorbent and better aerated too.
- Soil is at the bottom of the food chain, yet it is the cornerstone of life on earth.
Savannah McDonald
These are really great facts…. I really needed these for my 5th Grade project they helped me out alot! Thanks!!
Mike hunt
there shit
Andrew
Hi Mike. You need to either say (a) ‘They are s***’ or (b) ‘They’re s***’. ‘there s***’ (you should also have used a capital letter) is something a caveman might say if he (or she) spotted some s*** on the ground.
lilly
i agree
jake
dont curse kids comment on this
JENNY
they’re*
emma
Hey, by the way, if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say it at all.
Autum newcome
I think this is good for 6th grade sience
Chloe
That is exactly what I think
Andrew
Excellent, I’m glad we can agree.
your mom
No problem
amani
same i do need for my 5th grade project
Ben Dover
Yes! these factz are absolutely amazing! They really helped me with my 1st grade project!!!
Andrew
Thats great, we’re here to help!
Roxanne
Thanks for the facts. I really needed them for my 5th grade project too!
Andrew
Great, we’re glad to help
summerhilliard
5th grade wow they doing that now im in 6th grade i got to write a 300-500 word essay about LIVING SOIL
Andrew
That’s great.
Kristina ross
thanks u for the facts i needed for my science project
Abigail Quiñones
Does is really help you
Deea
these are perfect! it has really helped me for my project
vishnudas
They are great, as I used them for my 10th grade project.
vV
everyones here like… THANKS its for my 5th grade project and ur here like….. Yea im older than all y¨alls and it helped more.
Elijah Matamu
That really helped me for my Science project for school!!
These are really easy to understand for younger kids if they had yo come here and use this site I think that it will help them a lot
Tshmi
they were really helpful for my 5th grade projects
Anita
It was very helpful for my quiz
shreyas
thanks it was very usefull for my wild wisdom quiz
Justin Vo
Good Job on the facts!
Elijah Matamu
I reckon that they will help a lot of people as they have helped everyone on the site. It is a great site with a lot of GREAT FACTS for children or even adults that will needs this for some reason
Justin Vo
Good Facts!
B
This is awful
Andrew
No it isn’t.
B
Good Luck! Don’t Choking!!!
Andrew
Definitely not, and thanks for the advice.
Vidit
Best facts ever I got full marks
olivia reed
this helped me some thanks!
Jehmiah Harden
It really helped me find the answer to the question!!!
brianda
It is very helpful I used it for my 6th grade project
Andrew
Great, I’m glad you found them useful!
Raekwon
Thank U it has helped me with my homework
C
Very helpful!
Sara
It’s Good 🙂 Needed Some Facts For My Poster
jake
im doing a poster 2 lol.
Ben
Nice peepsss
Andrew
Great
vV
Nice!! found few of these on a diffrent cite but this is mire orginiazed and easyier to read!
aa
its good. needed for my project
Syed Tabraiz
Thanks for ur beautiful and amazing facts. Helped a lot for my project
Eelamme
this was so helpful thanks i needed for 6th grade project
Sid
It’s awesome. It helped in my 3rd grade project !! Thanks
ee
they are go facts for school for kids to learn
Braelin
THESE ARE AWESOME FACTS!!!! THANKS I USED THEM FOR MY 9th GRADE TEST AND QUIZ!!!!!
Joshua
I wanna be special too.
jake
this was awesome for m soil and water poster.#great facts :D.
jake
awesome facts
Julie Bobowicz
Thanks so much, my teachers gonna read my facts :3
Thug life
Thug Life, Make sure to check out YouTube and look at 107 facts about soil?
Thug life
Excuse me, one fact is wrong organic matter is 3%, I’m just saying
Andrew
Hi There. Sorry I missed your comment. I sort of agree with you and perhaps should have made the post more clear. You would expect organic matter to be about 3% for healthy grassland but for growing crops in a vegetable garden you want it to be 5 or 6%. We are a vegetable growers blog which is why I used the higher figure. I am sorry if it was misleading. Andrew
skxnlasxnjka
these are great i used them for my 6th grade assignment thank u
Andrew
You’re welcome, I am glad you find the information useful. Andrew
mayed
for kids
destaney
meh
destaney
it didnt help me very much and it looks so fake
Abby
Thank you, these facts really helped me for my 5th grade science project. Thanks again
Abby
Thanks for your help on my 5th grade science project
Dat Boi
Yo Mike Hunt you are the #1…. nice grammar my dude, you were stating what you thought about the facts. But you got the whole comment section to say why you’re wrong and that means you got attention. Keep being you. That is genius.
Bobby McDonald
Thank you guys for showing me the large world of swearing!! I realy appreciate it. :DDD
Sharvi
Yes, this facts helped me in 7th grade assignment. Thank you for these wonderful facts. #thanku
Clint
Thank yu these realy help me on my 11th grade soil poster progect!! Hail Hydra lol!!
marcus
cool
marcus
nice
mysterious
These facts are stupid.
I hate you Andrew
Andrew
Yeah, yeah.
Rose
Thanks, great facts.
cali Fahrenholz
they really helped me for my 8th grade project… thanks so much
jeffrey
i like it it really help you
person
can i get a huhyah!!!!
Andrew
You can, yes. Huhyah!!!!!!!!
conwaytwitty
this was really interesting
Andrew
Hi conwaytwitty
Cheers, I am glad you found our facts helpful. I will be adding to the article this year as so many guys seem to find good for school projects.
Andrew
freya
These are great! I used them for my 20th grade project hehe (at my job)
stuff
this didnt help me at all sorey
Andrew
Sorry to hear that, Stuff. Have a look around and see if there is anything else that takes your fancy.
Baby
Good facts
Andrew
Great, we’re glad to help
fortnite pro1823
hay this help e with my 1st grade progect
Andrew
Great, we’re glad to help
Andrew
Great, we’re glad to help
benjamin
hi it was so helpful love it thanks
Andrew
You’re welcome.
mark
hate it make it better
Andrew
You know I always say there’s no such thing as a stupid request. Just stupid people.
Kaylee
My teacher is making the whole class do a dumb poster.
Andrew
Hey Kaylee, I know some teachers can appear a little dumb but posters can be really cool. Get your facts and some cool pics and its really simple to put together a good looking poster. Here’s a deal for you – put together a good looking poster, share the link with us and we will publish it on our website or facebook page. We are all graphic designers here and we love good looking posters.
Some advice on making posters here:
https://www.canva.com/learn/create-infographics/
PewDiePie
Subscribe to pewds.Thanks for the facts
Andrew
You’re welcome
Sonny Smith
Really helpful, thanks for the help. Also Andrew you sound like a chill and cool guy. Thanks again
also im in year 7
Sonny Smith
These facts were super useful and I highly appreciate the effort and time you put into these facts.
Also Andrew, you sound like a very cool and chilled dude, so thankyou
Andrew
Thanks Sonny, glad to help. I like to thing I’m pretty chilled but that wouldn’t be cool.
Andrew
Cheers. The Dude.
Dale
This was really helpful for my 6th grade project. Thanks Andrew!
Andrew
Thanks Dale. Good luck with your project.
oofityoofitoofoof
OI NEED HEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!
Andrew
What is hepppppppppp?
rjman
this is really helpful
Brendon
Thank you Andrew. It got my bush tucker presentation on time.
Andrew
Hi Brendon
Glad to hear you made the deadline, glad we were able to help.
Andrew
Isaiah
Thank You!
sufiya
supper yar
Pink Unicorn
Hey guys (and Andrew),
I think these facts are super helpful. My year 7 science project. I will def get an A+, thx!
Also, Andrew, can you add more facts about soil being un-renewable please? Thanks.
Andrew
Hi Pink Unicorn
Yes, I will look at updating this article. There are a lot of you guys who find it helpful so very happy to add more info if you need it. I got you got your A+!
Andrew
draven
I liked this it helped me a lot because im doing work in 6th grade
Jasmine
This is great for our science, lots of great info!! This is really amazing facts
Adia
This helped me with a 2-page essay I had in the intro to agriculture class I took in the 8th grade
Alex Nivalov
my class for science my class is learning about soil you gaved me lots of intresting facts about soil. great goob on soil!
alaylah
cool
alaylah
wow
alaylah
hi reply plzzzzzz
azan
it helped me in my 3rd homework
Bimbo
I think theyre trash so haha
Andrew
Punctuation please Bimbo, it should be they’re trash. Jeez, do you guys learn anything in school?
Urnan xx
Shup andy you live in your mothers basement making money off adds from a soil website .
Andrew
Hi Urnan. What’s wrong with making money in a basement?
Sesh
Ao wan a sesh
Andy
Is this Andrew dowling
Andrew
It’s not.
Lucas
mane this is so good its perfect for my science class for 4th grade perfect
Andrew
Good to hear Lucas, I’m glad these fact were helpful.
Loondog
What is up big dawg
Andrew
Hi Loondog. Interesting soil facts are up, that’s what.
ivy
Thanks this will help me on my 6th grade project.
Andrew
Hi Ivy. You’re welcome, I am glad the information was helpful to you. Andrew
MYSTERIOUS GIRL
no cursing allowed!!! also this is a great app. THANK YOU!!!!
cutie
awesome
Silvana
Hey, Andrew, this is a great source. Thank you for stating these amazing facts! What could I compare the amount of soil on earth to? I kind of need this for a 7th grade project.
idk
indeed
ima' eat ya
thank you for the facts! really helpful to me.
Lourdes
These facts really helped me out with my speech that I have to do with saving soil… AMAZING!!!! <3 <3
Alisha
the facts were really good!!! even my mom agreelol
billie
wow it is weird these stuff…
billie
yeah helpful to me too cause I got a test at science by the way I am in grade 8
Unknown
Thank You!