14 May 2025

We’re back with another edition of Reading the Fields!

Organic matter, a powerful carbon source that fuels a diverse microbial population, is the lifeblood of a thriving soil ecosystem — the primary food source for a complex community of beneficial life for healthy soil.

By feeding a diverse range of microbes, fungal and bacterial life, organic matter helps maintain balance in the soil and plays both short- and long-term roles in soil function. Some components break down quickly to provide immediate nutrients, while others decompose more slowly and form humus— the dark, chocolatey, sweet-smelling substance found in healthy soils.

A soil rich in humus and biological life can significantly reduce your need for costly inputs and time spent applying them. Healthy, living soil retains nutrients, preventing leaching and ensuring plants get the nutrients for growth and production. With fewer fertilizers, fewer interventions, and better nutrient efficiency, you spend less time managing inputs and more time seeing results in your fields.

What is Humus?

Humus, the most stable and valuable form of organic matter, is created through the humification process, the biological process through which decomposing plants and sources such as manure break down.

It acts like a sponge for water, a storage vault for minerals, and a home for beneficial life in your soil for earthworms and microbes. Its structure helps create soil that breathes — literally — improving air exchange and water infiltration while supporting robust root development.

Mycorrhizal fungi play a key role in humification, contributing to nearly 30% of all humus formation. Supporting these fungi through good soil practices is one of the most effective ways to build long-term soil fertility. Also, it helps buffer heavy metals and soil contaminants by isolating carbon and reducing harmful interactions. This buffering action protects both crops and microbial life.

Protecting Humus Starts with Carbon Balance

As you work to build humus and organic matter, recognize how nutrient management impacts that process, especially nitrogen. Overapplying nitrogen without balancing it with a carbon source can deplete humus levels. When soils receive too much nitrogen, microbes become unbalanced and begin to burn off existing organic carbon to restore equilibrium.

To avoid this, always pair nitrogen applications with a carbon source like Humic Acid, compost, crop residues, or cover crops. Aim for a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 5:1—this balance supports microbial life, protects existing organic matter, and promotes the slow formation of stable humus over time.

The Power of Humates

Looking for a cost-effective way to boost humus formation and support soil biology? Humates are a smart move; these natural substances, derived from ancient organic material, are powerful tools for improving soil health and microbial balance.

• Humic acid, like our TrueHume™ 80P and TrueHume™ 80G supports both beneficial fungi and bacteria, including mycorrhizal networks, which play a central role in nutrient exchange and humus formation.
• Fulvic acid, like our TrueHume™ Fulvic 70, promotes both beneficial bacteria and fungi, helping to unlock nutrients in the soil and improve root absorption.

Humic and fulvic acids enhance microbial activity, stimulate root development, and accelerate the humification process. They’re affordable, easy to apply, and compatible with many existing nutrient programs, making them a simple but high-impact addition to your soil-building strategy.

Big Water Savings

One of the most valuable benefits of organic matter is its ability to retain water. Humus holds its weight in water, and even just a 1% increase in organic matter can significantly improve soil moisture-holding capacity. This increase allows your soil to hold 68,000 litres of water per acre, equivalent to 1.56 litres per square foot. Adopting a water storage strategy is crucial for improving drought resilience, reducing irrigation needs, and ensuring that plants get steady water throughout the growing season. In soils with higher organic matter, the sponge-like structure created by humus helps retain water, making it available to plants even during dry spells.

Lock In Nutrients for Plant Vitality

Just as humus is excellent for water retention, it also serves as a reservoir for essential minerals and nutrients. Its complex, sponge-like structure binds nutrients and gradually releases them to plants, reducing the risk of leaching. By keeping valuable inputs like nitrogen, calcium, and micronutrients in the root zone, humus helps ensure your crops can access these essential minerals and nutrients, instead of those nutrients washing away with rainfall or irrigation.

Soils with less than 5% organic matter can’t hold boron effectively—most of it will leach away. One solution is to bind boron with humic acid, forming boron humate, which improves retention. Another option is foliar application with humic acid, which bypasses the soil entirely.

The Benefits of a Living Soil Ecosystem

Healthy, humus-rich soil is alive with microbial and earthworm activity—two essential forces behind strong soil structure and fertility.

Microbes thrive in this rich environment, working with plant roots to break down organic matter, unlock bound nutrients like phosphorus and calcium, and enhance soil fertility. By burrowing through the soil, earthworms reduce compaction and create natural tunnels, helping plant roots to grow deeper with less resistance, release exudates, and support the soil life that delivers vital nutrients. Their castings are rich in nutrients and full of beneficial microbes that help cycle these nutrients back into forms plants can absorb. This dynamic life balance strengthens soil structure, improves water retention, and creates the ideal conditions for plants to grow stronger, healthier, and more resilient. However, synthetic inputs, harmful pesticides, and soil-damaging practices can disrupt the balance of this ecosystem. These inputs can diminish microbial diversity and kill beneficial life, weakening the systems that support long-term soil health and crop performance.

Creating and maintaining healthy soil rich in beneficial life is a gradual process. While post-harvest is the best time to add organic inputs, consistent care throughout the year is essential. Regular applications of organic matter—during both the growing and off-seasons—help build humus, enhance fertility, and support soil structure and microbial life over time.

Focusing on long-term, sustainable practices, such as crop rotation, cover cropping, adding organic matter, and using regenerative techniques, improves humus quality and increases its resilience against extreme weather. This approach ultimately enhances the soil while cutting costs and increasing the ability to support higher production year after year.

Best, 

Dave de Vries
President of Agriculture Solutions Inc.