Living Soil: Soil Health as a Multidimensional Practice
Samuel Dittert · April 27, 2026
Soil is not passive. Soil is alive.
A handful of healthy soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth. Bacteria, fungi, earthworms, single-celled life, algae, actinomycetes – they decompose, transport, breathe, communicate. Anyone who treats soil as mere substrate misses what really matters.
Most urban soils in Berlin and other metropolitan areas are compacted, sealed, depleted. Decades of synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use have left them exhausted, with nothing returned. Whatever grows there struggles. Whatever we plant there suffers. Anyone serious about soil health does not start with the plant – they start with what lies beneath it.
The multidimensional view
Conventional soil science looks at three dimensions: chemistry (nutrients), physics (structure, water), biology (microorganisms). It delivers measurable values and is a good starting point.
Biodynamic practice adds a fourth dimension: rhythm. Soil has phases – breath, activity, rest, regeneration. It responds to seasons, to light conditions, to lunar cycles. Not everything can be proven scientifically in every detail, but the practice shows: plants tended according to these rhythms grow differently. Stronger. More self-sufficient. With less intervention.
We do not work dogmatically biodynamic-certified. But we take the principles seriously: living soil, compost-based care, closed material cycles, no chemistry. On rooftop terraces, in interiors and in office greening projects, the difference shows within a single season.
Why is humus building a central investment for healthy soil?
Humus is the long-lived, stable organic substance in soil. It forms when soil organisms decompose organic material and create stable compounds. Humus is not compost – it is what remains after years of composting: stable, dark, alive.
What humus actually does:
- Water storage: 1 kg of humus binds up to 5 litres of water. Decisive in hot Berlin summers and on rooftop terraces with limited substrate volume.
- Nutrient binding: Humus retains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace elements. They are released slowly and on demand – not in a fertiliser surge that washes out.
- Soil structure: Humus promotes aggregate formation. Soil becomes loose, well-aerated, easily rooted.
- Climate impact: Each additional percent of humus binds about 50 tons of CO₂ per hectare permanently in the soil.
- Plant resilience: Plants on humus-rich soil cope significantly better with drought, heat and pest pressure.
Practical tools
Compost as foundation
3 to 5 litres of mature compost per square metre per year. Made on site or sourced from certified organic farms. It supplies nutrients, feeds the soil life, improves structure. In biodynamic-oriented compost production, compost preparations (yarrow, chamomile, nettle, oak bark, dandelion, valerian) come into play – they work homeopathically on the maturation process and lead to a finer, more vital substance.
Mulching
Soil cover with leaves, grass clippings, wood chips or straw mulch. It protects against drying out and erosion, dampens temperature swings, suppresses unwanted growth and is gradually broken down into humus by soil life. Particularly important on rooftop terraces where substrate is thin and wind is strong.
Biochar
Plant charcoal produced through pyrolysis offers habitat for soil organisms, stores water and nutrients, remains stable in the soil for hundreds of years. Combined with compost, it forms Terra Preta – one of the most fertile substrate types known to humanity. A game changer on rooftop terraces and in larger planters.
Fungal partnerships
Fungi are the underestimated mediators of soil. They form networks that fuse with plant roots, transport nutrients and water from distant soil layers and receive sugars from the plant in return. A plant with active fungal partnership has a 10- to 100-fold larger root system. We inoculate new plants with selected symbiosis fungi strains so that this network is built from the start.
Effective microorganisms
A curated mix of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and photosynthetic bacteria that activates soil life and shifts decay processes towards build-up. More on this in our dedicated article on effective microorganisms.
Soil rest
Do not dig. Soil biology needs rest in autumn and winter to regenerate. Digging destroys fungal networks, brings anaerobic layers to the surface, resets the ecosystem. If anything: surface loosening only, no turning.
Rhythm instead of routine
Biodynamic practice works with sowing and care calendars that take lunar phases and zodiac constellations into account. Not everyone needs to follow every detail. But the underlying principle applies anywhere: do not do the same thing every week. Observe, sense, adjust. When is the substrate dry? When does the soil need air? When is a compost layer needed?
On a rooftop terrace this means: substrate refresh and fungal partnership renewal in March. Mulching and observing in summer. Preparing soil rest in autumn. Doing nothing in winter – except watching.
What we actually do
For every exclusive project – rooftop, interior, office – we begin with a soil analysis. For existing greenings, often a remediation: compost cover, fungal inoculation, biochar amendment, organic care. After three to six months, the difference shows: stronger growth, fewer stress symptoms, considerably reduced maintenance needs.
Soil health is the most sustainable investment for any greening. It reduces water and fertiliser demand, makes plants more resilient and ultimately delivers the atmosphere for which someone commissions an exclusive greening in the first place: a place that is alive.