The Science Behind Sacred Plant Co's Soil Regeneration: Haney Score 25.4 Surpasses Pristine Forest

The Science Behind Sacred Plant Co's Soil Regeneration

Verified Science. Ancient Wisdom. Wild Potency.

Most agricultural soil today functions as little more than an inert growing medium, a sterile substrate that anchors roots but provides minimal nutritional support to plants. The living biological community that should thrive in healthy soil has been systematically eliminated through decades of synthetic inputs, heavy tillage, and monoculture practices. At Sacred Plant Co, we recognized that truly medicinal herbs require truly living soil, which is why our first priority at I·M·POSSIBLE Farm in Fruita, Colorado was to wake our soil up.

Using Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) collected from the ancient forests surrounding our farm, we inoculated our crop rows with trillions of beneficial bacteria and fungi—the biological workforce that transforms dormant dirt into dynamic, living soil. These microbes function as the digestive system of the soil, breaking down complex organic matter and liberating nutrients that plants cannot access independently. The results, confirmed by independent laboratory testing using the Haney Soil Health Test, exceeded even our optimistic projections: a seven-fold increase in microbial activity, and a final Haney Health Score of 25.4—surpassing pristine forest soil by over 45%.

Understanding the Haney Soil Health Test: Beyond N-P-K

For generations, agricultural soil testing has focused almost exclusively on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K), the macronutrients most obviously tied to crop yield. This reductionist approach treats soil as an inert delivery system for chemical inputs rather than recognizing it as a living biological ecosystem. The Haney Soil Health Test, developed by USDA-ARS researcher Rick Haney, represents a paradigm shift in how we understand and measure soil vitality.

The Haney test measures soil biological health by evaluating microbial activity, water-extractable organic carbon and nitrogen, and the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of these extractable pools1. Rather than simply quantifying what nutrients exist in soil, the Haney test reveals which nutrients are actively cycling through the living soil food web and therefore genuinely available to plants. It assigns each soil sample a health score ranging from 0 to 50, with most conventionally managed agricultural soils scoring below 72.

Sacred Plant Co's soil tested at an extraordinary 25.4 on the Haney Health Score—not just exceeding the "good regenerative" benchmark (7-10), but surpassing even pristine forest soil (typically 15-20) by over 45%. This score reflects not just nutrient quantity but the quality and biological availability of those nutrients, mediated by a thriving community of beneficial microorganisms functioning at levels rarely documented in agricultural systems.

The Seven-Fold Awakening: Microbial Respiration Results

Soil respiration serves as perhaps the most direct measurement of biological activity. When microbes consume organic carbon as food, they release carbon dioxide—a process measured in the Haney test through a 24-hour incubation that quantifies CO2 production in parts per million (ppm CO2-C). Higher respiration values indicate larger, more active microbial populations engaged in the essential work of nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and soil aggregate formation3.

In April 2025, at the beginning of our growing season, Sacred Plant Co's soil registered a microbial respiration rate of just 24.1 ppm CO2-C—indicating minimal biological activity and a largely dormant microbial community. By December 2025, following eight months of Korean Natural Farming management with regular Indigenous Microorganism applications, soil respiration had surged to 176.8 ppm CO2-C. This represents a 632% increase in measurable microbial activity.

To contextualize this transformation: conventional agricultural soils typically measure below 200 ppm due to decades of practices that suppress soil biology4. Sacred Plant Co achieved values approaching this benchmark in a single season by partnering with rather than fighting against the microbial world. These microorganisms now function as living fertilizer factories, continuously cycling nutrients and supporting plant health through mechanisms far more sophisticated than any synthetic input could replicate.

Korean Natural Farming and Indigenous Microorganisms: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Verification

Korean Natural Farming (KNF), developed by Dr. Cho Han-Kyu in the 1960s, represents a departure from both conventional chemical agriculture and many organic farming systems. Rather than importing nutrients or even commercially-produced biological inputs, KNF emphasizes cultivating and maintaining indigenous microorganisms—the bacteria, fungi, and other beneficial organisms native to each specific location5.

The methodology begins with collection: steamed rice is placed in boxes and positioned in undisturbed forest areas where healthy microbial communities thrive. Within days, beneficial fungi colonize the rice, creating what KNF practitioners call IMO-1. This culture is then stabilized with brown sugar (IMO-2), expanded with rice bran (IMO-3), and finally mixed with farm soil (IMO-4) to create a living inoculant adapted to local conditions6.

The scientific rationale is compelling: Indigenous microorganisms have evolved over millennia to function optimally in their specific environment. They understand the local climate, soil type, and seasonal patterns in ways that generic commercial inoculants cannot match. Research has demonstrated that IMO-based systems support superior soil food web structure compared to both organic and conventional farming approaches7.

At Sacred Plant Co, we collect our Indigenous Microorganisms from the diverse forest ecosystems surrounding our Colorado farm. These ancient woodlands harbor extraordinary microbial diversity—bacteria capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, fungi that mine minerals from rock particles, and countless other organisms that form the foundation of nutrient cycling. By bringing this forest biology into our cultivated rows, we essentially inoculate our farm with the same microbial wisdom that builds topsoil and supports plant communities in nature. The result: soil that not only matches but exceeds the biological vitality of undisturbed forest ecosystems.

Nutrient Transformations: The Numbers Tell the Story

Soil Organic Matter: The Foundation of Fertility

Soil organic matter (SOM) represents decomposed plant and animal material in various stages of breakdown. It serves as the primary food source for soil microbes, the reservoir for nutrient storage, and the foundation for soil structure and water retention. Conventional agriculture typically sees organic matter decline by 0.5-1% annually due to tillage and insufficient organic inputs8.

Sacred Plant Co's soil organic matter increased from 2.7% in April to 12.1% in December—a 348% improvement. This dramatic rise reflects both the microbial processing of organic inputs and the carbon sequestration occurring as microbes convert atmospheric CO2 into stable humus compounds. Each percentage point of organic matter represents approximately 20,000 pounds of carbon per acre stored in our soil rather than released into the atmosphere.

Available Phosphorus: Unlocking the Locked

Phosphorus typically exists in soil in forms that plants cannot directly access. Much of it remains "locked up" in mineral complexes or organic compounds until microbial activity and organic acid production make it available. Our available phosphorus levels surged from 9.9 ppm to 196.2 ppm—an extraordinary 1,867% increase that demonstrates how biological farming can access existing soil phosphorus reserves rather than requiring constant external inputs.

Nitrogen Cycling: From Atmospheric to Available

Total nitrogen increased from 14.9 ppm to 47.1 ppm, representing a 215% improvement. This nitrogen comes primarily from two sources: atmospheric nitrogen fixed by specialized bacteria in our thriving microbial community, and organic nitrogen mineralized from decomposing organic matter. The Haney test specifically measures water-extractable organic nitrogen (WEON), which represents the pool of organic nitrogen readily available to microbes for conversion into plant-available forms9.

Potassium and Micronutrients: The Complete Picture

Potassium levels nearly tripled from 41 ppm to 121 ppm (195% increase), while iron increased from 2.4 ppm to 7.0 ppm (191% increase). These improvements reflect enhanced weathering of mineral particles by microbial organic acids and improved nutrient retention through increased soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity.

The Regenerative Connection: Soil Health and Herbal Potency

The pharmaceutical industry's "active ingredient" paradigm treats medicinal compounds as isolated chemical entities, divorced from the biological context in which they developed. Traditional herbalism recognizes a more sophisticated reality: plants grown in living soil produce not just higher concentrations of therapeutic compounds, but more complex phytochemical profiles that work synergistically in the human body.

Research increasingly validates what herbalists have long observed—that soil biology directly influences plant chemistry. Plants growing in microbiologically-rich soil produce different secondary metabolite profiles than genetically identical plants in sterile growing media10. The diverse microbial community in regenerative soil facilitates nutrient uptake in forms that support optimal plant metabolism and phytochemical synthesis.

At Sacred Plant Co, our regenerative approach to soil health directly serves our commitment to producing truly medicinal herbs. We recognize that the same biological processes building soil organic matter and cycling nutrients are simultaneously supporting the complex biochemical pathways through which plants produce their healing compounds. The vitality in our soil—now documented at levels exceeding pristine forest ecosystems—translates to vitality in our herbs and, ultimately, to more effective botanical medicine.

Korean Natural Farming Inputs: Feeding the Soil Food Web

Beyond Indigenous Microorganisms, Korean Natural Farming employs several fermented inputs designed to support and maintain soil biological activity. These preparations—created from plant materials, fish waste, and mineral sources—provide targeted nutrition to the microbial community while supplying plant-available nutrients in biologically chelated forms.

Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ): Growth Phase Nutrition

FPJ captures the growth hormones and nutrients from rapidly growing plant tissues through lactic acid fermentation. Applied during vegetative growth phases, it provides readily available sugars and amino acids that fuel microbial activity while supplying plants with growth-promoting compounds. Sacred Plant Co produces FPJ from fast-growing plants harvested at peak vitality, creating a living fertilizer that supports both soil biology and crop development.

Lactic Acid Bacteria Serum (LABS): The Decomposition Catalyst

LABS introduces beneficial lactic acid bacteria that accelerate organic matter decomposition while suppressing pathogenic organisms. These bacteria produce organic acids that help solubilize mineral nutrients and create conditions favorable for other beneficial microbes. Our compost piles inoculated with LABS complete decomposition in weeks rather than months, transforming crop residues into plant-available nutrition with minimal nitrogen loss.

Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN): Disease Suppression

OHN combines fermented medicinal herbs with microorganisms to create a preparation that enhances plant immune function and suppresses soil-borne diseases. This input demonstrates how KNF integrates plant health, soil health, and human health into a unified system—the same herbs we grow for medicine also protect our crops and enrich our soil.

Looking Forward: Continuous Regeneration

The soil health improvements documented in our 2025 testing represent not a destination but a trajectory. Regenerative agriculture functions as a positive feedback loop: improved soil biology supports healthier plants, which produce more diverse root exudates and biomass, which feeds more robust microbial communities, which further enhances soil health. Each season builds on the previous one's gains.

Our commitment extends beyond our own farm. By demonstrating what regenerative practices can achieve in just eight months—soil health that surpasses pristine forest ecosystems—we hope to inspire other growers to partner with soil biology rather than bypass it. The microbial revolution happening in our fields represents a return to agricultural wisdom that sustained human communities for millennia before the industrial era's chemical shortcuts.

Every batch of herbs we harvest carries the signature of this exceptional soil—plants that have accessed dozens of nutrients through biological channels, developed robust secondary metabolite profiles through microbial partnerships, and embodied the vitality of truly regenerative agriculture. This is the difference between herbs as commodities and herbs as medicine.

Conclusion: Verified Science Validates Ancient Wisdom

The numbers from our 2025 Haney Soil Health Test tell an unambiguous story: regenerative agriculture works—and when practiced with commitment and precision, it can create agricultural soil that surpasses even pristine natural ecosystems. In eight months, using methods developed over generations in Korea and refined through modern understanding of soil biology, we achieved a Haney Health Score of 25.4, exceeding the pristine forest benchmark by over 45%.

These results validate our fundamental belief that how herbs are grown matters profoundly to their medicinal quality. The same biological processes that built our soil organic matter by 348% and increased microbial activity seven-fold are simultaneously supporting the complex phytochemical pathways through which plants produce their healing compounds. Regenerative farming isn't just good for the planet—it's essential for growing genuinely medicinal herbs.

At Sacred Plant Co, we don't just talk about quality and sustainability. We measure it, document it, and continually push ourselves to higher standards. Our commitment to regenerative agriculture represents our promise to you: herbs grown in living soil of exceptional vitality, processed with integrity, and backed by verified science at every step.