Kiss the ground by Daisy Meadows

A third of the land on Earth has been degenerated and is broken and a large proportion of the rest is degraded

Soil can be overlooked, it is not glamorous or showy and is even seen as dirty, but it really is the star of the show, part of the crucial foundation of life.  When it is healthy, plants will grow stronger and have better resistance to pests and diseases.  A soil needs to be happy! When we act as responsible land stewards – caring for and giving to the earth – the earth gives back in return.  It gives fertile, living soils, diverse crops, wildlife which helps to manage pests and diseases.  The natural world teaches us that in nature waste does not exist.

Soil Conservation farming and gardening is a system of principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds and enhances ecosystems.  The aims are to capture carbon in the soil by:

• Limiting soil disturbance Not digging or ploughing will preserve a healthy soil structure, retain the carbon, and respect the inhabitants of the soil who are not keen on being dug over.  Look after the microbial community including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, arthropods and let the worms do the work!

• Keeping the soil covered Organic ground cover will feed the soil as it breaks down.  There are edible cover plants such as wild garlic and winter purslane.  Sowing plants such as buckwheat or clover on vegetable patches in the autumn will feed the soil and protect it over winter, chopping it down to rot until the spring.   Cover bare ground with mulch – manure, compost, straw or garden clippings.

• Building diversity through rotation

• Integrating animals (not so easy in a garden!)

Gardens in Britain cover approximately 10 million acres; an area greater than all our nature reserves combined and just under half the utilised agricultural land.   Looking after the soil applies to farmers and gardeners alike. 

Spread the word.  Talk to your fellow gardeners and farmers and ask them if they are doing their bit to regenerate the soil, conserving it for future generations.  It has been said that if we carry on farming our soils on existing principles, used since the Second World War, in fifty years’ time there will be no life left in our soil.  

Now is the time to change the mind-set.

A breakfast thought:

“Essentially, all life depends upon the soil – there can be no life without soil  and no soil without life, they have evolved together” Dr Charles E Kellogg, soil scientist.