"Travis" wrote in message
news:d%g0e.23205$oa6.1581@trnddc07...
Cereus-validus..... wrote:
Here we go again.

"Top soil" is ANYTHING that makes up the surface layer of the soil
and does not have any specific chemical or biological composition.
It can be good for growing plants or it could be toxic. Buying "top
soil" is buying a "pig in a poke". You may not only be wasting your
money but you can actually be doing damage to your garden by using
it.
If you instead buy "humus", "loam" or "peat", you know exactly what
you are getting and how to use it.

Please define humus and loam. Who sets the standard for them and who
enforces that standard?

My very loose definition: Put some soil in a tray in the sun for two hours.
If, after that time, it's completely dried out and you can blow it away like
dust, it's neither humus nor loam. If it still smells alive, it *is* one or
both of those two. IMHO, of course. Your nose enforces this definition.