عادة نضع السماد في التربة.

عادة means usually / generally / as a rule here. It is placed first to set the time/frequency frame for the whole sentence.

So:

• عادة = usually
• نضع السماد في التربة = we put the fertilizer in the soil

Starting with عادة is very natural in Arabic, just like starting with Usually in English.

Originally, عادة is a noun meaning habit or custom. But in many sentences it is used in an adverb-like way to mean usually.

So in this sentence, even though its basic dictionary meaning is a noun, its function is basically adverbial.

You may also see it written with case ending/tanween in fully vocalized Arabic as عادةً (ʿādatan), which more clearly shows that it is being used adverbially.

The verb نضع comes from the root و-ض-ع, which is related to putting / placing.

In the present tense, the prefix نـ often marks we.

So:

• أضع = I put
• نضع = we put
• تضع = you put / she puts
• يضع = he puts

So نضع = we put.

Because Arabic verbs already include the subject.

In نضع, the نـ at the beginning already tells you the subject is we. So Arabic does not need a separate pronoun here.

You could add نحن for emphasis:

• نحن نضع السماد في التربة = We put the fertilizer in the soil

But in normal speech and writing, نضع by itself is enough.

The prefix الـ is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

So:

• سماد = fertilizer
• السماد = the fertilizer

In Arabic, definite nouns are very common even when English might use a more general wording. Depending on context, السماد can sometimes sound like the fertilizer, fertilizer, or the fertilizer in general.

Arabic often uses the definite article for things spoken about in a general, known, or typical sense.

So السماد and التربة here can refer to:

• the fertilizer and the soil in a general practical sense
• the fertilizer and soil relevant to the situation
• materials being discussed as a class

English sometimes prefers a bare noun, like fertilizer or soil, but Arabic often uses الـ where English would not.

In careful spelling, it is written السماد, but because س is a sun letter, the ل in الـ is assimilated in pronunciation.

So it is pronounced approximately:

• as-samād

not

• al-samād

The same thing happens in التربة because ت is also a sun letter.

Because ت is a sun letter, الـ assimilates here too.

So التربة is pronounced approximately:

• at-turbah or at-turba

depending on how fully you pronounce the ending.

A learner should notice two things:

1. The written form still has ال
2. The spoken form doubles the first consonant of the noun

So it is written التربة but pronounced at-turbah.

التربة means the soil or the earth/soil layer, especially in an agricultural or gardening sense.

أرض is broader and can mean:

• land
• ground
• earth
• territory

So in a farming or gardening sentence, التربة is more precise for soil.

في basically means in / inside / within.

So:

• في التربة = in the soil

In English, we might sometimes say put fertilizer into the soil, but Arabic commonly uses في for this kind of idea. It gives the sense of placing something in the soil.

So في here is very natural.

Yes, the word order is normal.

This sentence is:

• عادة
  • verb
    • object
      • prepositional phrase

That is very natural in Arabic.

You could also say:

• نضع السماد في التربة عادةً

which puts usually later in the sentence.

Both are possible, but starting with عادة gives it a nice topic-setting feel: Usually, we put...

In fully vocalized formal Arabic, the words could show case endings, for example:

• عادةً نضعُ السمادَ في التربةِ

But in normal everyday Arabic writing, short vowels and case endings are usually omitted.

So learners often see:

• عادة نضع السماد في التربة

without the final vowel marks.

That is completely normal in standard written Arabic.

Yes. Its basic meaning is habit or custom.

For example:

• هذه عادة جيدة = This is a good habit

But in your sentence, عادة does not mean a habit as a thing. It functions more like usually.

So the same word can behave differently depending on context.

A natural transliteration is:

• ʿādatan naḍaʿu as-samāda fī at-turbah

If you are reading the unvocalized spelling عادة نضع السماد في التربة, many learners simplify it as:

• ʿāda naḍaʿ al-samād fī al-turba

But that does not reflect the full grammatical vowels or the sun-letter pronunciation. A more accurate learner-friendly pronunciation is:

• ʿādatan naḍaʿ as-samād fī at-turba(h)

It is not fully regular in the simplest sense, because its root begins with و, and verbs with و or ي in the root can behave a little differently from strong regular verbs.

The dictionary form is:

• وضع = to put / to place

In the present tense:

• يضع
• نضع

So a learner should memorize it as a common everyday verb rather than trying to force it into the most regular pattern at first.