On-demand Course:
Part of the Amrita Virtual Academy Membership

Dig deep into soil science.

• Develop a strong foundation and understanding of the importance of microbes in soil fertility.
• Learn to assess soil health by factors such as plants growing, smell, texture, and water retention.
• Get the pros and cons of several methods of composting, and maximize the effect of your own local resources.
• Equip yourself to make your own organic amendments to transform your soil, reduce pests and disease, and increase harvests.
• From the smallest to the largest: receive guided practices to reach harmony with the life around you.
Soil is the foundation of our lives.

We walk on it, we are supported by it, we grow in it, but what do we really know about soil? What is the difference between living, fertile soil capable of supporting life, and lifeless rock and dust? It turns out, Nature has a perfect plan for supporting life. Humans can become part of this harmonious system, or work against it.

Learn how the smallest life forms on earth make the biggest impact, and what you can do to create a thriving, disease-free, weed-free organic garden or farm.

Course Details

  • Class Structure & Materials

    • Soul of the Soil provides 1 hour of on-demand video content per week for six weeks.

    • Weekly quizzes and written materials will help you enjoy and get the most out of the on-demand content.

    • Plus, enjoy guided meditations to get in tune with your soil!

  • Gardening Expertise

    • Replay library of six live Zoom classes with Amritaculture instructors and panelists that help deepen your knowledge of ecosystems and microbiology and troubleshoot gardens.

    • Enjoy engaging discussions, group meditations, and gardening Q&A with amazing and knowledgeable gardeners.

  • Special Bonuses

    • Learn how to look at soil under a microscope!

    • Enjoy our worldwide online Community Forum to share and learn about gardening.

    • For questions, please email [email protected]

Course Curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome

    • Welcome to Soul of the Soil

    • Amma's Garden and Message

    • Opening Prayer

    • Syllabus

    • Devotional Gardening

    • Garden Prayer

    • Chat with Seetala & Chandrika

    • Community Discussion Board Information
  • 2

    1. Getting to Know the Soil

    • Guided Practice : Love & Earth

    • Introduction

    • Soil the Sacred Source

    • Soil Composition

    • Soil Horizons

    • Soil Aggregates: Review

    • Assessing Soil

    • Soil Assessment Checklist

    • Participation Adventure: Water Infiltration Test

    • Soil Quiz

    • Soil Sponge Live Call Recording
  • 3

    2. Microbes and Ecosystems

    • Soil Food Web: The Microbiology We Never Knew We Needed

    • Meet the Microbes Introduction

    • Meet the Microbes

    • Microbe Groups and Applications

    • Ecosystems Evolve

    • Plant Succession Chart

    • Soil & Watershed

    • Participation Adventure: Making a Fungal Inoculant

    • Microbes Quiz

    • Mychorrizal Fungi Live Call Recording
  • 4

    3. Nutrients

    • Photosynthesis

    • The Carbon Cycle

    • How Plants Eat

    • Beyond NPK

    • Terra Preta

    • Human Health and the Soil Connection

    • Participation Adventure: Photosynthesis Walk

    • Nutrient Quiz

    • Healthy Plants Make Healthy Soil Live Call Recording
  • 5

    4. Compost

    • Intro to Compost

    • Making Compost

    • Maintenance: Compost Care

    • Finished Compost

    • Applying Compost

    • Compost Materials Chart

    • The Origin of Compost

    • Participation Adventure:10 Cup Mini Compost Pile

    • Compost Quiz

    • Troubleshooting Compost Live Call Recording
  • 6

    5. Worm Compost and Biochar

    • All About Worms

    • First Steps to Amending Soil

    • Making a Wormy Compost Bin

    • Applying Wormy Compost

    • Worm Bin Issues

    • Biochar

    • Participation Adventure: Bio-Char Bonfire

    • Worm Compost and Bio Char Quiz

    • Biochar Live Call Recording
  • 7

    6. Liquid Amendments

    • Guided Practice : Love, Earth, & Microbes

    • Compost Extract

    • Intro to Liquid Amendments

    • Slurry

    • Leachates

    • Aerated Compost Tea

    • Using Aerators

    • Applying Aerated Compost Tea

    • EM - Effective Microorganisms

    • Protozoa Infusion

    • Recipes

    • Participation Adventure: Making a Compost Extract

    • Liquid Amendments Quiz

    • Liquid Amendments Live Call Recording
  • 8

    Resources and Closing

    • Closing Prayers for World Peace

    • Amma's Prayer

    • Soil Mineral Triangle Chart

    • List of Weeds and the Soil Conditions They Indicate

    • Natural Pest and Disease Management

    • References

“Nature is our first mother.

She nurtures us throughout our lives. Our birth mother may allow us to sit on her lap for a couple of years, but Mother Nature patiently bears our weight our entire life. Just as a child is obligated to his birth mother, we should all feel an obligation and responsibility towards Mother Nature. If we forget this responsibility, it is equal to forgetting our own self. If we forget Nature, we will cease to exist, for to do so is to walk towards death.”

~ Amma

Meet Your Instructors

Seetala D.

Amritapuri, India

Seetala has been gardening for over 25 years in Northern, Mediterranean, and tropical climates. She spearheaded the San Ramon Ashram’s community garden in the early 2000s. Inspired by the Northwest Coast Native American indigenous traditions, Seetala incorporates a variety of gardening approaches, with a focus on the Soil Food Web and Permaculture methods. She has taught gardening to children at Wolfe’s Neck Agriculture and Research Center in Freeport, Maine, and is currently in the mentorship program to become a soil consultant with Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web School.

Victoria T.

Boston, USA

I have a BS in Ornamental Horticulture, but annuals, perennials, herbs, veggies and tropicals are my specialty. I’ve done a lot of indoor and outdoor growing both in the ground and in pots. I had my own greenhouses for twelve years in Connecticut, selling spring annuals, perennials, veggies and herbs—all grown without any herbicides or pesticides.

Taking Amma’s plea for us to grow veggies to heart, every year I try to do better at growing and using edible plants. Growing flowers is also part of my life—I enjoy having something blooming year round. I continue to try to be a better steward each year in the garden, trying to tune in, listen to and work with all the subtle aspects of Nature that are trying to harmonize with us.

Tom and Anaswara T.

Oklahoma, USA

Tom and Anaswara T. live in Oklahoma, USA, on Turtle Barn Organic Farm. Tom recently retired as an environmental engineer with 30 plus years experience in cleaning up toxic soil and water. Anaswara considers herself a "beginner" gardener with 50 plus years experience. Both consider soil and compost the most important aspect of farming.

Many students have interned on the farm over the past several decades, learning about gardening and the environment.

Chandrika S.

Amritapuri, India

With a passion for gardening and respect-based environmentalism, Chandrika has been producing learning content that focuses on the spiritual and practical aspects of home gardening for four years. As a result of that work, Chandrika had the honor to present at India's C20 Education & Digital Transformation Working Group conference, to exchange ideas on technology, empathy, and environmentalism in education with international leaders in the field.

She has participated in her local community gardens since the age of 18, as well as managed a small urban farm from 2009-2014. Chandrika also spent a year as volunteer farmhand under the leadership of Lola S. at Amma's rudraksha farm in Amritapuri.

Peter A.

USA

Peter has worked in agriculture for more than 50 years, from small farms to large commercial avocado and citrus groves. Realizing that the soil was the key good production, Peter took the Master Composters course in 2007. He then studied Biodynamics in India in 2008-09, the Soil Food Web course with Dr. Elaine Ingham in 2010 and again in 2012, the Permaculture Design Course in 2012. Ever since, Peter has been teaching composting.

Tinsel Yvonne L.

UK Center, London

Tinsel has been growing food and medicine for 25 plus years. Her gardening style is a type of artistic expression. She has a Permaculture Design Certificate which she puts to good use in her urban garden endeavours, growing pollinator friendly gardens filled with flowers. She regularly helps out with all things natural at the UK Ashram in Bromley.

Soil is a living, breathing ecosystem, full of diversity and beauty.

Many conventional agricultural practices have been degrading that life-giving soil, and it's up to us to re-generate Nature and restore fertility to the land. Learn how!

Join the AVA Membership


Our Enrollment Process

  • Create an Account

    • Sign in or create an account with Amrita Virtual Academy. It is free to do so. Afterwards, you can join the AVA Membership using your AVA log-in ID.

    • Enroll using our secure, encrypted payment system. We support most international credit cards through Stripe. Prices are in USD.

    • Check your email for a welcome letter and sign in to your Amrita Virtual Academy account.

  • Visit Your Student Dashboard

    • All learning materials and resources are hosted on the Amrita Virtual Academy e-learning platform. Simply visit your Student Dashboard. Here you can also access orientation materials.

  • Enjoy Your Program!

    • Enjoy access to all of the course content as long as your AVA Membership is active. Stream anytime from computer, mobile or tablet without limit. The timing is flexible and self-paced.

Also included when you join Soul of the Soul

The AVA Membership also includes these gardening and nature topics: