The Top Ten Benefits of Humus Compost
- Soil structure improvements – poor drainage, hard pans, erosion and dust storms are far more likely in low humus soils as the life that creates a crumbly, friable soil is missing and the glue that holds the soil together is also lacking.
- Promotes soil crumb structure – this magical soil structure is not something you can buy in a bag. Bacteria release a sticky exudate that creates mini aggregates in the soil. Then, fungi use their hyphae to wrap these particles into larger aggregates to create a highly desirable crumb structure that allows easy access of oxygen and water. Plant roots, earthworms and beneficial nematodes can move easily through this soil and everything works as it should!
- Water retention – humus holds it’s own weight in water and is a far more efficient means of delivering water directly to the roots than storage and delivery from dams which suffer major evaporation problems and generate a major carbon footprint via pumping of that water.
- The solubilisation of mineral fertilisers – the better the humus levels the faster your response to mineral fertilisers like lime, dolomite, rock phosphate, and rock dust. The release of these materials is governed by biology.
- pH buffering – the higher your humus levels the less the importance of maintaining a perfect soil pH of 6.4
- Mineral Retention – humus has negatively and positively charged sites so it can store and stabilise all minerals. If you can build your humus levels it will dramatically improve fertiliser efficiency.
- Soil Detoxification – humus acts like a carbon filter to neutralise chemical residues and heavy metals in the soil.
- Root zone chelation – humus contains both humic and fulvic acids which are nature’s most powerful chelating agents.
- Plant growth promotion – the organisms that live in humus produce growth hormones, B group vitamins (now known to promote plant growth) and other growth promoters.
- Less chemical intervention – high humus soils usually feature the full suite of protective organisms which reduces the need for toxic chemicals.
