What is soil? (and how to improve it)

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Leisure, Hobbies

4.4 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2022

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s time for a love-in and a few lessons about the stuff we shove our precious plants into… soil! This episode we’re speaking to not one, but two expert scientists on what’s going on in the ground. Dr Magdalena Boshoff clues us into the world of nematodes and Dr Jassy Drakulic fills us in on fungi. Plus we chat with horticulturist Joe Lofthouse about how to choose the best compost bin to improve the soil in your garden. Send soil samples to the RHS: https://www.rhs.org.uk/membership/rhs-gardening-advice/sending-in-samples Honey fungus: https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/honey-fungus Stem and bulb nematode: https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/stem-and-bulb-nematode

Transcript

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0:00.0	Get your tickets for the greatest show in Earth at an RHS garden near you.
0:06.4	Where nature puts on an unforgettable performance of colour and fragrance to delight your senses.
0:13.2	Inspire your gardening adventures and entertain your own little stars.
0:17.4	Race you, let's go.
0:19.5	Catch Springs finest scenes while you can add an RHS garden near you.
0:24.0	Book tickets online for discounts, plus under fives go free and under 16s of five pounds.
0:32.3	Soil, earth, dirt, it's far more than just a growing medium.
0:38.3	Unlike the activity above ground, the myriad webs of life beneath the surface are often overlooked.
0:44.3	But we're here to challenge that on today's show and share a slice of the rich biodiversity that can be found in soil.
0:50.3	We'll be talking to Dr. Magdalena Bosoff about a certain worm-like organism that
0:56.0	exists in your garden in abundance and how to watch out for any unfriendly turns. And we take
1:01.7	a trip to North Yorkshire to hear from an expert horticulturist on the best approach to making
1:07.1	some tip-top compost. Welcome to Gardening with the RHS with me Guy Barta.
1:15.2	But first,
1:17.2	fungi.
1:18.5	You might be most familiar with them in the supermarket aisle as tasty mushrooms
1:22.3	to add to your favourite dish.
1:24.0	But fungi are far more complex and impactful on the home garden than many of us realise.
1:29.3	We headed to RHS Garden Wisley to get to grips with the biology beneath us.
1:39.3	My name is Jassy Draculich and I'm a plant pathologist based at RHS Wisley.
1:45.0	I'm a researcher and the primary focus of my research is honey fungus, which is a pathogen that rots the roots of plants and kills them.
1:53.0	However, I've grown fond of and much more aware of all the other fungi that exist in the garden
	...

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