Soil Odour & Health
As gardeners, I’m sure many of us have gone out into the garden after it’s been raining and you can smell that lovely earthy smell. You can often smell it when you turn over your compost heap. This is due to a compound called Geosmin, which is a compound secreted by bacteria know as Streptomyces. What it indicates is a soil that is biologically active – meaning it has a lot of bacteria and fungi in it. Exactly the sort of thing you want to have. Geosmin is a bit of a strange compound. Humans can detect it at very low levels and we love the smell of it in the soil. Geosmin gives beets that district earthy flavour, and it is even used in perfumes to get that earthy smell. We don’t know exactly why bacteria produce Geosmin – it may be to attract soil insect like the spring tails…