I was reading today about farmers' soil in this Food and Extreme Weather: It's the Soil, Stupid article. The differences between the 2 types of dirt - dirt vs soil - in the picture is obvious even without knowing much.
I live in a very tiny house, with a yard that's sadly small, but I do try to grow pretty flowers, tomatoes and strawberries successfully. A couple of years ago I bought dirt (called soil) - yes, paid money for dirt. But it's GOOD dirt: a mix of compost and topsoil. The dirt that came with the house sucks. Really. It's full of rocks and clay, so I had to buy dirt (oops, soil) to have something for roots to be happy growing in.
One problem I have is a huge shortage of money and dreams bigger than the days of summer, so buying more good dirt every time I want to grow more is simply not an option. So why not "make" good dirt (actual garden soil)? Enter the search for compost, is it worth it? How do I do it? and last but not least, how long does it take? It's not actually called dirt though, it's soil. Yet another word difference I need to remember is important.
With all the pages, stories, and guides online I like this one the most. So next I have to pick a spot and get going! Ugh... waiting for winter to end can be so frustrating! It's awfully cold to be working outside still. So planning is all I can do for now. Will update with pics as soon as the thermometer goes up a bit :)
Oh, and by the way, there's a big difference not only between dirt & soil, but also differences between potting soil and potting mix.