Is Terramation Soil Safe for Gardens? What Families Should Know About Using NOR Soil (colloquially referred to as human composting)

Yes — terramation soil is safe for use in home gardens, around trees, in flower beds, and for houseplants. The natural organic reduction (NOR) process reaches sustained high temperatures that eliminate pathogens before families ever receive the soil. The finished material — a rich, earthy compost — carries balanced nutrients that benefit most plants. There are a few practical precautions worth understanding, including some guidance specific to food crops in certain states, but for the vast majority of garden uses, terramation soil is ready to work with and nourishing for the land it goes into.

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How the NOR Process Makes the Soil Safe

The safety of terramation soil starts with the process itself. Understanding how how terramation works produces a pathogen-free result helps families feel confident about returning that soil to the earth in a meaningful way.

During natural organic reduction, the body is placed in a vessel with wood chips, alfalfa, and straw — a carefully balanced mix of carbon and nitrogen-rich organic materials. As microbial activity accelerates, the vessel’s internal temperature rises substantially. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, composting processes must sustain temperatures at or above 131 degrees Fahrenheit for several days in order to meet established standards for reducing pathogens, including harmful bacteria, parasites, and disease-causing microorganisms.

NOR vessels achieve and maintain these temperatures throughout the process. Licensed NOR facilities maintain heat above 131 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods — well within the range that inactivates pathogens and pharmaceuticals present in body tissues.

This is not a passive process. NOR facilities actively manage oxygen levels, moisture content, and temperature to ensure the process runs at the right pace and reaches the right conditions throughout. The result is a material that has been thoroughly transformed — not decomposed in any conventional sense, but converted through controlled microbial activity into stable, plant-ready organic matter.

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What Washington State Regulations Require

Washington State, where natural organic reduction was first legalized through WA SB 5001 in 2019, has established some of the most specific regulatory standards for NOR soil safety in the country.

Under WAC 246-500-055, Washington State law requires licensed NOR facilities to test soil for pathogens before it can be released to families. The regulation sets specific thresholds:

• Fecal coliform: fewer than 1,000 MPN (most probable number) per gram of total solids
• Salmonella: fewer than 3 MPN per 4 grams of total solids

These are the same pathogen standards used for commercial compost that is approved for use in home gardens and agricultural settings. The regulation also sets limits on heavy metal concentrations, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium — all of which must fall below specified levels before the soil can leave a licensed facility.

In short, the soil families receive has passed documented testing. It is not simply assumed to be safe — it is verified.

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What the Soil Actually Contains

Terramation soil — including TerraCare’s Regenerative Living Soil™ — is primarily organic compost. Its composition reflects the biological inputs of the process: the person’s body along with the wood chips, alfalfa, and straw used as co-materials.

Testing and characterization of NOR soil from commercial licensed facilities has documented the following soil profile:

• pH: Typically between 6.5 and 7 — the ideal range for most common garden plants
• Macronutrients: Balanced levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur — the building blocks of healthy plant growth
• Nitrate content: Elevated levels reflecting advanced aerobic decomposition, meaning the nutrients are in forms readily available to plants
• Microbial stability: Rated “Very Stable” in respiration tests, indicating that the microbes have consumed most easily-degradable compounds and the material is mature and settled — not still actively hot or breaking down

This nutrient profile is consistent with high-quality finished compost. The soil does not contain ash or inorganic mineral residue the way cremation remains do. It is biologically active, earthy-smelling organic matter that functions similarly to well-finished garden compost — which is precisely what makes it useful in the landscape.

For families who want a deeper look at what happens to the soil after terramation, including how the transformation takes place and what the family receives, that companion article covers the full journey.

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Where to Use Terramation Soil in Your Garden

For most families, the question isn’t whether the soil is safe — it’s where to put it and how to use it well. The good news is that terramation soil works in most of the same places you’d use high-quality finished compost.

Established trees and shrubs. This is one of the most natural fits. Spread the soil around the base of trees and shrubs as a top-dressing, keeping it a few inches away from the trunk. Over time, rain and microbial activity will work the nutrients down into the root zone.

Flower beds. Whether perennials or seasonal flowers, garden beds respond well to nutrient-rich compost incorporated into the top soil layer. For new beds, mix two to four inches of compost into the top six to nine inches of soil before planting.

Houseplants. Terramation soil can be incorporated into potting mixes for indoor plants. Blending it with standard potting soil at a moderate ratio gives plants a nutrient boost without overwhelming younger root systems.

Natural areas. Some families choose to scatter the soil in a beloved natural place — a forest, a meadow, a stretch of coastline — rather than a home garden. In Washington State, dispersal follows regulations similar to those governing cremated remains: landowner permission is required. Dispersal in navigable waterways is permitted under state law.

What about tender annuals and young seedlings? Some caution is advisable with very young or delicate plants. Because the soil is nutrient-dense and still relatively high in available nitrates, direct application around tender seedlings may be too rich. Using the soil as mulch rather than direct root contact, or blending it with existing garden soil to dilute the concentration, is a reasonable approach for those situations.

The EPA recommends applying finished compost as a three-inch surface layer (a few inches away from stems and trunks) or worked into existing beds as a two-to-four-inch amendment. Either approach works well with NOR soil.

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The Question of Food Crops

This is the area where families should be most attentive to their specific state’s guidance.

Colorado’s natural organic reduction law (SB 21-006, enacted 2021) explicitly prohibits using NOR soil to grow food for human consumption. Washington State’s regulatory framework does not contain this same explicit prohibition, but it is worth checking current guidance in your state or with your NOR provider before applying the soil directly to a vegetable garden intended for eating.

This is not because the soil is unsafe in a general sense — it has passed pathogen testing before you receive it. The precaution is more about regulatory conservatism as this field evolves, and about being thoughtful in contexts where the stakes of any error are higher.

If a vegetable garden is deeply meaningful to you and you want to use the soil there, speaking directly with your NOR provider about your state’s current guidance is the right first step. Many families choose ornamental gardens, trees, meadows, or memorial landscapes as their primary use — and find those equally meaningful.

For families thinking about creating a dedicated memorial space using terramation soil, the memorial garden guide offers practical and thoughtful guidance on planning, planting, and tending that kind of space.

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Three Conditions That Change the Process

It is worth knowing that NOR providers screen for three conditions that disqualify bodies from the standard process:

• Ebola virus disease
• Prion diseases (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease)
• Active tuberculosis

In these rare cases, the standard composting process cannot be relied upon to render the material safe, and the body would not be eligible for NOR. Hospitals and medical examiners are responsible for identifying and communicating these conditions. For families where none of these apply — which is the overwhelming majority — the process proceeds as designed and the soil meets established safety standards.

Additionally, radiation seed implants (used in some cancer treatments) must be removed prior to the process, with a waiting period observed.

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Terramation Soil and Environmental Impact

One of the reasons families choose terramation is the sense that something generative comes from loss. The soil that results is not a symbol of that return — it is the return itself. Organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that were once part of a person are now available to nourish trees, flowers, and living systems.

This is part of terramation’s environmental impact that sets it apart from other disposition choices. Rather than releasing carbon into the atmosphere through flame cremation, or sealing organic matter away from the soil cycle through conventional burial with embalming, NOR completes a biological loop. The nutrients go back.

For families who want to understand how much soil terramation produces — the volume, the weight, what it looks like when you receive it — this article on soil volume covers those practical details.

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What Families Commonly Do With the Soil

Families who have received NOR soil have put it to use in ways that feel personal and lasting:

• Planting a memorial tree or grove in a park or on family land
• Enriching a rose garden the person tended during their lifetime
• Scattering it in a forest, meadow, or natural area the person loved
• Adding it to a community garden (some NOR providers facilitate soil donation programs)
• Creating a dedicated memorial garden on the family property

There is no single right way. The soil is yours, and the meaning you make with it is part of the gift of this choice.

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A Note on Terminology

Throughout this article, the terms “terramation soil” and “NOR soil” refer to the finished compost output of natural organic reduction. TerraCare Partners refers to this output as Regenerative Living Soil™. The trademarked name reflects a commitment to a specific process quality — verified testing, consistent nutrient profile, and soil that has been produced under documented facility standards. Not all NOR providers produce soil of identical quality, which is why the testing and process management behind the soil matter.

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Ready to Learn More or Take the Next Step?

If your family has received NOR soil and you have questions about how to use it, or if you’re considering terramation and want to understand what this choice will look like in practice, we’re here to help.

Ready to explore terramation options? Contact TerraCare Partners

Find a funeral home offering terramation in your state

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Sources

1. Washington State Legislature — WAC 246-500-055, Human remains reduced through natural organic reduction. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=246-500-055
2. Washington State Legislature — SB 5001 (2019), “Concerning human remains.” https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5001&Year=2019
3. Colorado General Assembly — SB 21-006, Natural Reduction. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-006
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — “Composting at Home.” https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — “Approaches to Composting.” https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/types-composting-and-understanding-process

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