How to create a living soil - and dramatically increase the productivity of your growing

sieving worm compost

Soil life: the best kept secret to successful container growing?

If you want to grow food successfully in containers, nurturing soil life can make a huge difference. Worm compost, for example, is full of microbes and life. Add it to your containers and you will get more vigorous growth, and far fewer pest and disease problems. Discovering this, was the biggest turning point in my growing (more important, even, than self watering containers), transforming sporadic successes into something more consistent. 

Worm compost is rich in microbial life as well as worms - and is invaluable for creating a living soil when growing in containers in small places Worm compost is rich in microbial life as well as worms - and is invaluable for creating a living soil when growing in containers in small places

Why is soil life important?

Healthy organic soil in the natural world supports a web of life including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes as well as larger creatures like worms and slugs. These organisms play a vital role in the life of plants. They break down organic matter to make the nutrients available for plant roots. They condition the soil and create air spaces and tunnels in it – improving aeration and drainage. And they compete with other more harmful organisms in the soil, ones that will damage your plants if left unchecked. Soil life is complex -  so the above is just my attempt to summarise some of the main benefits you can expect when you add life to your containers!

Why do you need to add life to containers?

Most commercial composts that we buy are sterilised and low in microbial life. So is municipal compost (it has to be made at hot temperatures to kill pathogens, killing much of the beneficial life, too).  So if you want life in your containers – and to mimic soil in the natural world - you need to add it.

How can you add soil life to your containers?

There are several different ways you can add life to containers. There's also things you can do to support and nurture life in containers once you've got it -  and I'll share these with you in a future post. Be aware that some things - like pesticides, slug pellets (even organic ones), and inorganic fertilisers - will actually kill soil life, and may work against the outcome you are trying to achieve.

1. Worm compost

Worm compost is particularly rich in soil life. It's my number one choice for adding life to containers. When matter is passed through the worms body it becomes inoculated with all sorts of tiny life forms. So worm compost contains bacteria, fungi and other microscopic goodies (as well as worms!). Unless you have a phobia of worms, I highly recommend you buy or make a wormery to recycle your waste food and make your own worm compost. They may be easier to make than you think – see www.bubblehouseworms.com, for a DIY idea - as well as some lovely wooden worm boxes (wood is my preferred choice for a wormery - again, it's easy to make your own). Add about 10 – 15 % worm compost to new compost to inoculate it with life.  

Teeming with life - the small white things are pot worms - but there are also billions of organisms in this bowl that you can't see Teeming with life - the small white things are pot worms - but there are also billions of organisms in this bowl that you can't see.

2. Homemade compost

Homemade compost is also rich in life. It's not quite as rich in microbes as worm compost, but still lively! Add 15 – 30% by volume to new compost to inoculate with life

3. Leaf mould

I don't know many people growing in urban spaces who have the space or access to enough leaves to make leaf mould (would love to hear from you if you are). But if you do – or have a supply – this is another ingredient teeming with life. It's a particularly useful ingredient for making seed sowing mixes as it is also low in nutrients. You'll find many recipes on line for seed compost but one is to mix about 40% leafmould, 40% multipurpose compost and 20% sand.

4. Manure

Manure is also rich in microbial life. In urban places you can often find it - free or at low cost -  at City Farms or police stables. Manure varies tremendously in quality and the goodies - and nasties like drug residues - that it contains – so ask around and try in small quantities first. Add about 10 – 30 % of well rotted manure to new compost to inoculate it with life. Either put it into the bottom of the pot or mix it in thoroughly.

5. Bokashi

Bokashi is Japanese method of composting food quickly in a tightly sealed bucket. Benefits of bokashi are that you can add almost any food (even meat), it works quickly, can be done in a very small space, and doesn't smell (much). The drawbacks are that you need to buy bokashi bran for it to work, and the pickled product is not as versatile as worm compost. But you can add it to the bottom of containers to add both organic matter and microorganisms. Mix about 10 - 20% into the compost in the bottom third of a container. 

6. Mycorrhizal Fungi

Mycorrhizal fungi form partnerships with plant roots and, in basic terms, help the plant extract more nutrients from the soil. They are now available to gardeners in several different forms  - I'm trying some that come mixed in with chicken manure pellets. I can't say much about them yet from personal experience (watch this space!). But from what I've read, it's worth experimenting.  If you've tried any, I'd love to learn from your experience. These are six ways you can introduce soil life to containers - do you have a preferred option? Or know of another way not mentioned here?

32 comments

Wes
 

Cemeteries are a great source of leaves , composted too, if you find an undisturbed corner, and usually fairly litter free
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Penny Clark
 

Hey Mark Really enjoying your blog. Dissapointed to hear that organic soil supports slugs as they are nothing but a pest to me and eat everything in sight! Do you have any good tips to discourage them??? Thanks
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Jacqueline Trefault
 

To decrease the amount of slugs put some oat meal in your garden and the slugs will go it dihydrate then so they die for what I understand I heve been doing it for less than a year and it seems to work, also against pincher bugs, but not as well as for slugs.
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plantlightly
 

How did you get on with the mycorrhizal fungi/chicken manure? I'm keen to try some some if it works well.
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Mark RS
 

To be honest its a bit difficult to say because I had a pretty miserable year all round last year. But I did notice that, when I used it, the salads seemed to fair better than the others. I can't say for sure, but I think it's worth a try. I hope I'll be able to learn a bit more about it this year. If you do decide to try it, I'd love to hear how you get on.
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Plantlightly
 

Thanks Mark. Yes it was a bad year and I'm hoping for a better season. With all the rain, I'm thinking there's probably been a lot of damage to any soil not covered with crops or mulch, so I'll try this mix myself and see if it gives my plot a bit of a pick me up. will let you know if I discover anything interesting.
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Lynne McDonagh
 

I've just set up some larger planters in my courtyard garden, hoping to grow aubergines, cucumbers and tomatoes next to a south facing wall. I've filled them with a mixture of council compost, horticultural grit, leaf mould, garden soil and a sprinkle of mycorrihizahe. So I think all that lot should inject some soil microorganisms and help drainage. Now I'm thinking of adding some planters to the house wall but wondering if this might cause dampness, or indeed if it might be dangerous - we have had some pretty fierce winds here lately. Any tips?
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Mark RS
 

Hi Lynne, one option could be for you to grow on ladders leaning up the wall? Ladders are easy to make (and you can buy them too) and the containers on them wouldn't be in contact with the wall so you wouldn't have to worry about dampness if that could be an issue for you. You can see a picture of one of my ladders in the 'What to do in April' post. I've added some hoops as well so that I cover it with plastic and protect it from the winds you mention. Hopefully the winds will die down soon. Love the sound of your soil mix! Do come back and let us know how it performs, would love to hear.
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Lynne McDonagh
 

Hi Mark I looked at your ladder pic, and though it's a great idea, it won't work in my tiny courtyard garden as there's a bench at ground level. I'm thinking of trying to recycle pallets and fixing them to the wall. Will ponder a bit on this one. Have you tried using pallets yourself? Check out my small garden ideas pinterest board http://pinterest.com/dustyfeeder/">Pinterest to see what I mean. Oh, by the way I saw a ladder similar to yours at a garden centre yesterday - £99!
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Mark RS
 

Hi Lynne, thanks for sharing your pinterest board - you have an inspiring collection there. I haven't done much with pallets yet but have just found a good supply near our new home so plan on doing some experimenting this year. Wow, £99 for a ladder.... I made mine for £4 :)
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SUNIL J KLAVARA
 

I use table salt to control them. Usually make a circle with salt around the pot. Or keep salt water in an old plate and throw the slugs and snails in to it.
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Chris
 

Beer
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Rhys Jaggar
 

I'm using horse manure 1:1 with John Innes Number Three Compost as my final potting mix for my tomatoes this year. The first observation at this stage of the season is that the tomatoes which have set on the rapid bush variety are the sort of shimmering green colour that I've always seen on photos but never had on my plants grown solely on JI3 before. A handful of basaltic rock dust also goes in, so somewhere in the horse manure (6 months old in my garden - unsure how old when collected from stables) and the rock dust is a health-giving system. There were defintely still live worms in the horse manure when I made the potting mix, so maybe organic life is helping in 30cm pots?
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High Quality Sod Grass in Mississauga
 

Soil plays an important role in growing of seeds. Your soil must be nurturing and you should use quality seeds for proper growth of seeds.
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Buz Kloot
 

I saw your comment about leaf mould. I havea garden in an abandoned lot in Columbia, SC and set aside a 1,000 square foot of space where i piled leaves 6-12" high last fall. The leaves were all but consumed and they have left a rich layer of soil, 2" thick, dark of color with a highly granular structure (looks like BB's). In the southeast with all of our deciduous trees there is plenty of opportunity to gather leaves because most people see them as waste and not an asset.
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Eric
 

I re-cycle old compost by gradually feeding it into my compost bin. I mix it in by layering with i) Shredded Paper, ii) Kitchen Veg waste., I keep it moist with my Urine daily which is the best activator by far. I "kick start" the compost bin each year with a layer of well rotted horse manure which has been kept in a seperate compost bin, moistened of course with Urine and turned at least twice in the 12-months. Worms love it! I described this to our grandchildren as - "Re-charging" our soil.
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Mit J Street
 

I had this problem with slugs and snails. What an awful mess a slug can do to a seedling tree over night. ! As you say, pellets and such do kill all kinds of good things. Then I got 2 ducks and an enclosure. My wife loves the ducks and supervised they will eat every slug and snail in my garden. So easy to keep, friendly souls, ducks will do the job. 1 hour a day trolling round my Bonsai stands, that`s all it takes. Oh ! and do remember to wrap all stand posts in copper tape, slugs cannot and will not cross copper.
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Tj Bakewell
 

Great article, I personally use john innes compost for the same process and it works very well.
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Dillon
 

A small bowl of fresh beer right before sundown will catch all the slugs that come out...been doing it for a couple years works great wouldn't do anything else :)
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pat
 

Hello I thought vertical growing was more than growing in containers. Is there a good method for terracing as an example of vertical growing?
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Hello Pat, yes indeed, there are various ways of growing vertically. This site focuses on growing in containers in smalls spaces rather than in the ground.
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Svetla
 

Good old egg shells with the pointy sides up . You can also try building minie masquito cages and using the eggshells around it. Also, you can use compost and wood mulch on the spot where you dont want them. The egg shells act like broken glass. Slugs will be sliced! I hope you try it!
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Janine
 

I smear a 1 and a half inch band of Vaseline around all my pots. I find this works well to deter the slugs.
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Robert Satterlee
 

Fall leaf clearing time is a great source of collected leaves in extra large trash bags at area churches put out for trash ! I have also left the leaves in the bags through the winter with great results and you could add earthworms ! Or visiting with landscape guys about allowing truck dumping of collected leaves if you have room ! One of our guys raises earthworms in the large pile of collected leaves !
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Mark Ridsdill Smith
 

Thanks for sharing those, Robert, excellent ideas. I've also collected leaves from church yards before (with permission, of course!) and can back up what you say there.
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Rhys Jaggar
 

Vermicompost layer is great for germinating carrots grown in 17 litre polypots. A dribble below the seeds, a dribble above. I got a 7.5lb harvest from 11 carrots this year doing that, using three year old compost from my wormery. See a September 2017 article at www.urban-no-dig.com for more details. I have around 20 litres of almost mature leaf mould after stuffing four 35 litre pots with leaves in sutumn 2016. By spring, four pots fit into one, so you can use the others through summer for tomatoes, potatoes or whatever. I collected my leaves from where neighbours had swept them into a pile, also from ditches by the side of a golf course. Asking neighbours to let you have their swept up leaves rather than sending them to the council is also worth it....
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you don't know my name
 

good SOIL> SAVE THE EARTH!!!!!!!
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shona
 

What kind of beer? I.e lager or more traditional english ale type of beer?
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Sunil Klavara
 

Thanks Mark. Nice to see your article still attracting visitors and benefiting the readers. Klavara
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Didi Meier
 

Biochar with Mycorrhizal Fungi is my best bet for living soil. Heaps of info and books out there lately for Biochar, just rediscovered after a 2000 year old habit in the Amazon. I produce it since 2 years in Australia, started for the sake of helping the environment, it has turned out we could reverse engineer climate change with this substance. Heaps of info about Biochar on the net lately. Best soil improver and it last for thousands of years, ones implemented into the soil it stays for good, just needs moisture and nutrients (worm- and/or compost tea) to stay recharged. I use it in pots, raised garden beds, normal garden, hydroponics, aquaponics and hybridponics, vertical garden and everywhere anything is grown with living soil/bacteria. Probably a good starter for a new blog
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Heidi Pintschovius
 

Leaf mould - very helpful when dealing with clay

When I was still living in London, I got leaves from the estate  management, after they swept the leaves up. For them it was waste and they were rather puzzled, why I should want them. I never really kept if for very long, but it made good mulch already by spring, only half rotted. Containers with a water reservoir (aka 'self-watering containers'), compost and mulch are the key hardware for container gardening to my mind.

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Heidi Pintschovius
 

I have a proper compost bin now, but when having less space, I fared well with two pop-up bags and large saucers for lids. One pop-up bag got filled with garden waste and used earth (where else to go with it?), the other was maturing. When it was time to swap, I sieved the compost, used what earth I got for whichever project and the rough bits, which were left, got added in when starting anew or used at the bottom as a starter. When there is no way to drain excess liquid, it is useful to add upturned flower pots and twigs at the bottom to allow for "drainage". Else you end up with a thick layer of sludge,  which probably is very fertile but wrong consistency and smelly. This is even more important, if you compost kitchen waste. 

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