# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DUYfd2REgeo
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55444075-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/5c79ce0a56.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-02-05T16:19:44.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

Turns out, getting your hands dirty might be doing more than helping your plants 🌱⁠
It may be helping you, too.⁠
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Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland, and Tampere University found that soil can directly influence the microbiome of human skin.⁠
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In the study, volunteers grew edible plants for a month. Some worked with microbially rich soil, others with soil low in microbial diversity. Everyone tended, harvested, and ate what they grew. Same routines. Same time frame. Different dirt.⁠
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The difference showed up on their skin. Participants who gardened with microbially diverse soil developed significantly more diverse skin microbiota than those working with microbially poor soil.⁠
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As doctoral researcher Mika Saarenpää explains, urban living often reduces our exposure to microbes, which can affect immune health. This study shows that everyday, hands-on activities like gardening can help restore some of that lost microbial diversity—naturally.⁠
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So yes, gardening feeds your plants.⁠
But it might also be feeding your skin’s ecosystem—and supporting your immune system along the way.⁠
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Another reason to dig in.⁠
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To read more on how gardening can improve your skin microbiota, visit our September/October issue at ahsgardening.org. Not a member yet? Join us at connect.ahsgardening.org/join! ⁠
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#ahsgardening #americangardener #horticulturenews #plantnews #sustainablegardening #americanhorticulturalsociety #gardennews #skinmicrobiota #soiltherapy #microbialexposure #gardenstudy

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## Tags

skinmicrobiota, ahsgardening, gardenstudy, soiltherapy, sustainablegardening, microbialexposure, gardennews, plantnews, horticulturenews, americanhorticulturalsociety, americangardener

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