Plain and simple: healthy soil is the foundational key for everything that grows in your yard.

Lush, green stretches of soft-under-foot grass. A flower garden that produces a surplus of bright blooms for cutting. Bushy, aromatic basil plants for fresh pesto and summer salads. All these start with good soil.

Healthy soil is alive, teeming with an army of small organisms that wiggle around, loosening the particles, digesting bits of leaves and blades of grass, and producing by-products and living conditions and the very nutrients that support vibrant plant growth. Many of these creatures are microorganisms, way too small to see when you inspect your lawn (a tablespoon of healthy soil can contain 50 billion of them!), but you can certainly see the results of their activities.