1. soil

2. organic

3. the top layer of the earths surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic matter

4. of, relating to, or derived from living organisms

5. inorganic

6. humidity

7. Involving neither living organisms or products of living organisms

8. dampness, especially of the air

9. weather

10. temperature

11. The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure.

12. The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment.

13. organisms

14. humus

15. an individual form of life

16. Nonliving, finely divided organic matter in soil, derived from microbial decomposition of plant and animal substances

17. decomposition

18. decompose

19. The act or result of disintegration

20. To separate into components or basic elements. To become broken down into components; disintegrate. To cause to rot. To decay

21. vegetation

22. nutrients

23. The plants of an area or a region; plant life

24. source of nourishment

25. absorption

26. compost

27. The act or process of taking something in

28. A mixture of decaying organic matter, as from leaves and manure, used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients.

29. vermicompost

30. bacteria

31. is the product or process of composting utilizing various species of worms, specifically red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms

32. Group of microscopic, single-celled organisms that inhabit virtually all environments, including soil, water, organic matter, and the bodies of multicellular animals.

33. microbes

34. thermophiles

35. A minute life form

36. An organism that thrives at high temperatures

37. topsoil

38. weathering

39. The upper part of the soil

40. Any of the chemical or mechanical processes by which rocks exposed to the weather undergo changes in character and break down.

41. particles

42. eroded

43. A very small piece or part; a tiny portion or speck.

44. To wear (something) away by or as if by abrasion: Waves eroded the shore.

45. cultivation

46. rocks

47. Loosening and breaking up (tilling) of the soil.

48. Relatively hard, naturally formed mineral or petrified matter; stone

49. minerals

50. clay

51. inorganic nutrients

52. A fine-grained, firm earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated

53. silt

54. sediment

55. A sedimentary material consisting of very fine particles intermediate in size between sand and clay.

56. Material that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees. Solid fragments of inorganic or organic material that come from the weathering of rock and are carried and deposited by wind, water, or ice.

57. sieves

58. sand

59. sifts

60. Small loose grains of worn or disintegrated rock.

61. gravel

62. pebbles

63. An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.

64. usually balls of hard flint or hard burned white porcelain.

65. loams

66. percolation

67. a rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay and decaying organic materials

68. the slow passage of a liquid through a filtering medium; "the percolation of rainwater through the soil"

69. red wigglers

70. the most common type of composting worm