It's known as petrichor and it is not clearly understood why humans can smell it.

I thought they'd figured out it was a particular bacteria that releases geosin when they die? Why we can smell it is another story I suppose. We can smell at a tiny parts per billion. Perhaps it indicated fertile land and water sources for us, back in the day. The fact we evolved to be so fine tuned to the land makes me feel a bit funny, especially as we seem to like to cover up the land with concrete and fuck it over as much as we can. Petrichor? What petrichor? I love the smell of wet concrete in the morning!

I mean, worms and bugs and bacteria are AWESOME. You can't get enough. I've been making compost and worm casting tea to put over my veggies weekly, but I dont think of feeding the pLANT, i think of the SOIL - the rest follows.

Good work my man, good work!

PS Have you tried strong vinegar to clean your stuff? It seems to get rid of smells pretty well. Detergent, yes, but then vinegar. A good soak in.