tips & tricks
How to Build
Healthy Soil
If our goal is to build rich,
healthy soil full of beneficial
microorganisms, there are certain
practices we should and should
not do. Keep in mind that not doing
the should-nots doesn’t create
healthy soil, but it will stop us from
destroying our soil further.
We should not till our soil. Although it
may initially unleash a burst of nutrients
from all of the microorganisms dying, you
are killing the very microorganisms that
create the nutrient cycling system. Over time,
tilling will deplete your soil instead of building
it. Historically, this is why we have rotated fields
to plant, or have even had to move farms once the
soil—or more accurately, the soil biology—dies. If
you manage your soil properly, the biology in your
soil will do the tilling for you. There is no need for you
to break your back tilling in amendments every spring.
Also, overwatering and excessive soil compaction will
both lead to an anaerobic environment in your soil, which
is ideal for pathogens, so best to avoid those.
Now, for the things we should do. These are the practices
that create a healthy soil food web.
Consider using organic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.
Some chemicals can be full of salts that kill the biology in the
soil. If your soil doesn’t have the microorganisms storing the
nutrients in their bodies, about 80 per cent of the fertilizers will
wash through the soil to the groundwater anyway.
You may need to use additional fertilizers or pest control methods for
a few years while you build up your soil. Fish emulsion and bone meal
will add to the soil instead of depleting it. Pure, cold-pressed neem oil
is a completely natural pesticide and fungicide that is very effective
without harming beneficial insects or soil life.
We should use compost tea. It is one of the fastest, most effective ways
to add life to your soil. Compost tea is full of beneficial bacteria and
mycorrhizal fungi that will attach to your plants’ root systems and start
eating their exudates. Once your microbial colony grows, it is sure to attract
nematodes, protozoa, arthropods, and earthworms.
We should also add organic matter to our soil as much as possible. Add layers
of compost and mulch. When you prune, drop the leaves on top of the soil. Leave
weeds on top of the soil, as long as they don’t have seeds. Organic matter
is food for microorganisms, and when they are done
digesting it, you are left with nutrient-rich humus.
86
grow cycle
HEALTHY,
“ BALANCED
SOIL NEEDS
both mycorrhizal fungi and
beneficial strains of bacteria to thrive.”