What is Humus?

• Humus is inactive organic material, usually decomposed plants. Most soil has humus in varying amounts, which gives it the distinctive dark brown color. Humus is complex and is made up of a variety of substances that have decomposed to the point of being impossible to identify. Humus makes garden soil rich and provides nutrients to growing plants.
  
  

Composting to Make Humus Soil

• Some gardeners make their own humus to enrich their garden soil by composting kitchen and yard scraps. A compost pile starts out as identifiable food particles such as vegetable tops, fruit peels or egg shells, and yard waste such as leaves and dead plants, and over time breaks down into rich, brown humus soil. Digging this humus into garden soil adds extra nutrients for plants and helps them grow.
  
  

Water Retention

• One important task that humus completes in the garden is water retention. Rich humus is excellent at holding on to water and releasing it slowly to plant roots. Soil that lacks humus may either drain too quickly or not allow water to soak in at all. As water passes through the humus on its way to the plant, it picks up nutrients.
  
  

Soil Texture

• Humus improves soil texture, making it more ideal for planting in. Clay soil tends to clump, while sandy soil is too loose. Adding humus to either produces soil that is texturally more sound for a successful garden. Improving soil texture balances its porousness and permeability, so it retains water and nutrients more readily and releases them to the plant roots, rather than allow them to either sit on top of the soil or drain through too quickly.