Fertile soil - Definition and Overview

Fertile soil is soil that can support abundant plant life, in particular the term is used to describe agricultural and garden soil.

Fertile soil has the following properties:

• It is rich in nutrients necessary for basic plant nutrition including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• It contains sufficeint minerals (trace elements) for plant nutrition including boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc.
• It contains organic matter, that improves soil structure and water retention.
• pH is in the range 5.5 to 6.2.
• Good structure, creating well drained soil.
• A range or microorganisms that support plant growth.

External link

• Building Fertile Soil (http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/gardenideas/soilfert.html)