Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Can you really feed soil microbes with sugar, molasses, yeast, beer, oatmeal, or even soda? Gardeners have been experimenting with these unconventional soil amendments for years, but does science actually support them?
In this video, I break down what happens when you add simple sugars and other unusual ingredients to your garden soil or compost. We’ll look at how soil bacteria and fungi use carbon, why some amendments can temporarily boost microbial activity, and the hidden downsides that most gardening advice leaves out.
You’ll learn:
* Does sugar feed soil microbes?
* Is molasses good for garden soil?
* Should you add yeast to your garden?
* Does beer or soda improve soil biology?
* What actually builds a healthy soil food web?
* The best long-term way to support beneficial soil microbes
As a soil scientist, I’ll separate fact from fiction using plant and soil science—not gardening myths—so you can make better decisions in your vegetable garden.
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👩🏻🦰 A B O U T M E:
Ashley has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are YouTube, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s YouTube channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her YouTube channel as well as her reach to up-and-coming gardeners.
Disclaimer
This description or comments section may contain links to affiliate websites. I receive a commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such a link. This includes the gardening in Canada website. You should assume all links both on the gardening in Canada YouTube, Blog, and all other social media are affiliates and I will receive compensation.
Can you really feed soil microbes with sugar, molasses, yeast, beer, oatmeal, or even soda? Gardeners have been experimenting with these unconventional soil amendments for years, but does science actually support them?
In this video, I break down what happens when you add simple sugars and other unusual ingredients to your garden soil or compost. We’ll look at how soil bacteria and fungi use carbon, why some amendments can temporarily boost microbial activity, and the hidden downsides that most gardening advice leaves out.
You’ll learn:
* Does sugar feed soil microbes?
* Is molasses good for garden soil?
* Should you add yeast to your garden?
* Does beer or soda improve soil biology?
* What actually builds a healthy soil food web?
* The best long-term way to support beneficial soil microbes
As a soil scientist, I’ll separate fact from fiction using plant and soil science—not gardening myths—so you can make better decisions in your vegetable garden.
🌱 Subscribe for science-based gardening videos every week
Helped Design A Plant Sensor! Grab one of these here is the link: earthone.io/?ref=GARDENINGINCANADA
For a Discount code: GARDENINGCANADA
👩🔬 G R A B A P L A N N E R
Paperback 2024 Garden Planner:
geni.us/1Q7xaE
📝 S T A Y I N T O U C H
Website/Blog & FREE printables: gardeningincanada.net
Instagram: instagram.com/gardeningincanada
➡️ A F F I L I A T E S
Westcoast Seeds Affiliate Link: bit.ly/33mGGaI
Seeds Now: seedsnow.com/?rfsn=6354409.1f000b
🎉 S O C I A L S
👩🔬PATREON: patreon.com/gardeningincanada
INSTAGRAM instagram.com/gardeningincanada
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/GardenInCanada
👩🏻🦰 A B O U T M E:
Ashley has had a passion for plants since she was a small child. In the long summers as a child, she would garden alongside her grandmother and it was then that she realized her love for greenery. With years of great studying, Ashley had begun her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
At first, her second love, animals, was the career path she chose but while doing her undergrad she realized that her education would take her elsewhere. And with that, four years later she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor’s degree in science and a major in Soil Science.
Some of Ashley’s interests are YouTube, in which she posts informative videos about plants and gardening. The focus of Ashley’s YouTube channel is to bring science to gardening in a way that is informative but also helpful to others learning to garden. She also talks about the importance of having your own garden and the joys of gardening indoors. Ashley continues to study plants in her free time and hopes to expand her YouTube channel as well as her reach to up-and-coming gardeners.
Disclaimer
This description or comments section may contain links to affiliate websites. I receive a commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such a link. This includes the gardening in Canada website. You should assume all links both on the gardening in Canada YouTube, Blog, and all other social media are affiliates and I will receive compensation.
