A person holds two overflowing handfuls of rich brown soil. - William Edge/Shutterstock We can all imagine what healthy soil looks like: Rich, crumbly, and dark brown, bursting with nutrients and ...

High-quality soil should have good drainage and tilth, a dark color, a pleasant smell, and signs of life. Avoid soil that is compacted, visibly sandy, and shows no signs of active soil organisms.

Determining the health of agricultural soil has traditionally been a slow, messy, and expensive process involving hazardous chemicals. But what if the answer was as simple as the shade of the dirt ...

Not all plants need top-quality soil to grow—you can have a striking, vibrant landscape filled with ornamentals that are well adapted to poor soil. However, if you want to grow highly productive ...