a short article i wrote for a local newspaper (Mansfield Independent News)

Soil Health, Your Health

 

Farming can be a beneficial, beautiful, and spiritual way in which humans can cooperate with Nature in order to provide for some of our most basic needs. Farming allows us to feed ourselves, and find inner peace through connection and a gradual understanding of our place in Nature.

It is unfortunate that society has come to view farming as a war between humans and Nature. Misguided by this, toxic chemicals and poisons have been developed that greatly harm our soils, our environment, and our health, and have made us dependent on their continual use. However, there are ways of living and of growing food that focus on soil health rather than killing pests and disease.

The soil is an amazing, living universe—much more complex than our current understanding of it. Great attention to soil health produces crops that are naturally healthy and strong against pests and disease. But achieving and maintaining soil health is a long-term endeavor.

A cup of healthy soil contains more living organisms than there are people on Earth and it is these bacteria, fungi and other micro-organisms found within the soil that are the real farmers. When thriving, they form beneficial relationships with plants and help extract nutrients out of the soil; they help with soil structure and affect the amount of air and water in the soil—all of which are critical to plant health. 

Yet, every garden and field is different, and people who work the land must make an effort to understand their particular soil characteristics and needs.

A good place to start is with a yearly soil test, the results of which allow a gardener to address any organic matter deficiencies, and optimize mineral balance. Reduced tillage, cover cropping and mulching, are other important practices in soil health.

On our farm we apply well-thought-out amounts of good quality compost, fish and seaweed, that have many benefits including inoculating the soil with beneficial microbes, providing a source of food for soil micro-organisms, and boosting plants’ immunity to stress and disease.

Soil health is affected by many other factors which are not easily controlled such as acid rain, environmental pollution, and water quality. It is important to acknowledge that whether we grow food or not, we all have a direct and significant impact on our soils, through the types of waste we generate, the products we use on our lawns (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) and the types of products we purchase and how they are manufactured. 

Our health is intimately connected to the health of the land that feeds us, the quality of the water we drink, and the quality of the air we breathe. It is in our interest that these precious resources be clean and healthy.

If you garden or farm I wish you a happy, healthy, productive gardening season. And if you don’t, may you be nourished by healthy food grown in healthy ways.