Harvesting Forest Soil for Starting Seeds

I had a very interesting conversation today.  In involved commercial compost and potting soil, and human bio-waste.  That's all I'm going to say about that...

If you are like me, with a gigantic pile of unfinished compost at sowing time, you have been calling around to local garden centers and landscape supply outlets to ask about organic compost and seed starting mediums.  By now, it seems like most people are aware of the very misleading "organic" labeling on most bagged soil amendments.  For example, Miracle Grow brand "organic"potting soil has the synthetic fertilizer, ammonium phosphate, in it.  Right on the back of the bag, in the world's smallest font, it says that it is not to be used by certified organic growers.  Then to top it off, I had the aforementioned conversation.  Needless to say, I no longer had an interest in any type of commercially produced compost or potting soil.  You must even beware the compost created on site by landscape supply centers.  These composts are typically only made of green waste, then they just sprinkle on some compost activator and call it good.  Sounds harmless right?  Well, in most cases the green waste is dumped there by landscapers and tree trimmers, so you are at risk of introducing toxic pesticides and herbicides into your garden.  So what are you to do, when it seems like there are no options?  Look to nature.  She always provides!

When you walk around the forest, no doubt the ground looks like this:

I mostly have oak woodland around here, so you see lots of oak leaves and twigs.   The forest floor in a pine forest may look a little different than this photo, but that doesn't matter.  It is what's underneath that top layer of leaves (or pine needles) that you want.  When you scrape off that top layer of whole or only partially broken down leaves, you should find this:

 

Isn't that soil beautiful!  I found this black, rich soil only 6 inches down or so, right around the base of a large old oak tree.  I chose to harvest soil from around the base of a tree because there was a natural clearing where no plants where growing.  Often times the natural mulch around the trunks is too thick for delicate forest grasses to grow through.  When you hold this soil in your hands it is light, fluffy, and smells of the Earth.  It is teaming with beneficial microbes and nutrients.  Since it is from nature, and nature is a genius, it is sprinkled with lot's of little rocks which is great for aeration (read: one less thing you have to add to it!).  It is so ALIVE!!!  What could be more perfect for starting your seeds?   I took only what I needed!

 

When I was done, I thanked the forest for this bountiful, rich gift, and for saving me money!  I also took the time to cover my tracks and replace the top layer of leaves I had pulled back.  The forest soil is a precious resource to new plants and the animals that feed on them, and that top layer is there to protect it.

In my next blog post, I will show how I used this forest soil to start my seeds, and some things you can add to further enrich it and give your plants a great start!

UPDATE:  The post about turning your forest soil into a good seed starting medium is up on the blog!