Gardening for Better Soil

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How do you view soil in your garden? A lot of us look at soil as just the brown stuff under our feet. We usually don’t think about all of the different components that make up soil, all of the different organisms living in soil, or how it is this whole environment that our plants depend on. It is a living, breathing ecosystem that could be the answer to improving your entire garden. As gardeners, you know that soil is important so you should be feeding it, not just feeding your plants. And there's no better person to talk about that topic today than Juliet Sargeant, an award-winning British garden designer, educator, and author of Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden.

In this episode, we learn:

[00:00] Why soil is more than just dirt
[03:28] Who is Juliet Sargeant?
[05:31] Soil as a mix of science and creativity
[09:02] What are the different components of soil? (topsoil, subsoil)
[12:07] Air pockets in soil
[14:37] Give your plants the nutrient-rich foundation they need with Espoma Organic!
[16:08] Join the movement of confident female gardeners with Dovetail x John Deere Workwear!
[18:03] What are the essential soil elements to consider as a gardener?
[19:40] Soil testing 101: pH kits, sedimentation jars
[22:20] Too much clay? Too much sand? How to fix your soil naturally
[24:16] Should you really change your soil composition? (adapting native plants)
[29:12] What are the least invasive ways that we can improve our soil?
[30:06] What is no-dig gardening?
[34:18] What are the essential nutrients for plants?
[37:31] Where can you find Juliet online?

Mentioned in our conversation:

Start with Soil: Simple Steps for a Thriving Garden by Juliet Sargeant

For Juliet's expert tips on achieving a healthier and livelier soil,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Follow Juliet:

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Espoma Organic

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

Dovetail Workwear

Grab a pair today and get 10% off at dovetailworkwear.com/growingjoy. The discount is applied at checkout and promo is limited to one per person.

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!

Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)

Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

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Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria

Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com

Pinterest: @growingjoywithmaria

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Manukora: https://manukora.com/BLOOM
* Check out Washington Red Raspberries: https://redrazz.org

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So one thing about me that you might not know is I'm obsessed with you. I think about you all the
0:05.5	time. I'm always thinking about how I can create content to support you and make sure that I'm
0:11.2	kind of meeting you at eye level and supporting you in the journey where you are now, not where you
0:16.0	were a couple of years ago or a couple of years into the future. And ever so often I send out a
0:20.4	community survey
0:21.3	so I can really understand who you are and how I can help you. I haven't done a community survey
0:27.5	in two years and I have one live right now. I've sent it to my newsletter audience. I realize some
0:32.9	of you might not be on my newsletter. So if you could take two minutes and go to Growingjoy with Maria.com
0:38.0	slash 2025 survey, I would be so thankful. I read through every single answer. I pour through it.
0:45.5	I'm so honored you take the time to let me know where you're at in life when it comes to your
0:50.0	connection to your plants, your connection to nature, your connection to yourself. And I will be
0:53.9	building out probably the next year of content based off of the results of this survey. So if you want to
0:58.2	be a part of it, if you want to give me feedback, whether it's positive or negative, because it is
1:02.5	an anonymous survey, you are invited to go to growing joy with Maria.com slash 2025 survey,
1:09.4	2025 survey. I cannot wait to learn more about you and continue growing joy
1:14.2	alongside you. Once again, that's growing joy with Maria.com slash 2025 survey. We know this plan,
1:21.2	friend. Soil isn't just the brown stuff under our feet. It is a living, breathing ecosystem that could
1:26.7	be the secret to transforming your entire
1:29.1	garden. Today, we're talking to garden designer and author Juliet, Sarjean, about how to stop
1:34.4	gardening just for your plants and start gardening for your soil. It's a complete reframe
1:39.3	when it comes to how to approach your garden this summer. It's really inspiring. Trust me,
1:43.6	this conversation might change the way you look at dirt forever. Let's dive in.
	...

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