5 · The Four Pillars

Soil — the 4 Pillars to healthy living soil.

Soil basics: the absolute foundation for healthy soil. Understanding the 4 most basic pillars that create and sustain healthy, living soil.

Farmer walking through healthy green fields at sunrise

This knowledge will…

  • ensure that plants will have all the nutrients they need;
  • increase plant resilience to disease and pests;
  • teach you why NH₃ is so bad for your soil;
  • show you how to repair the damage made by saturating the soil with chemical fertilisers.

When the soil conditions change, so does the recipe. This is why you need a solid understanding of how soil works.

The four pillars

From the AfrEcoSoil reference chart.

Pillar 1

Organic %

The humus colloid — building the soil’s storage plates. Organic content is what drives soil fertility, from 20% up to 100%.

Pillar 2

Calcium / Magnesium Ratio

The right load on the colloid (Dr. Albrecht). Calcium loosens, magnesium binds — and the ideal ratio differs for sandy versus clay soils.

Pillar 3

Micro-Organisms

Living microbes start composting and make nutrients available; soil diseases disappear in a healthy bio-diverse environment. Ammonia (NH₃) sterilises soil and kills microbes.

Pillar 4

Fertilizers — Macro & Micro

Macro (N P K Ca Mg S) and micro (Fe Cu Zn Mn B Mo) elements. A shortage of any one limits yield — balance matters more than high NPK.

The reference chart

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The 4 Pillars of healthy living soil — reference chart

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Open / download the full chart

The next step: evaluate your soil.

We have the tools for that right here.

Test your soil Get Bio-1: Soil · R330

Next in the series: Take a Soil Test →