Growing Solutions for Healthy Soil
We know soil is alive. Why do we treat it like dirt? The first lesson in the first soils class I ever took covered what soil is made of. We learned soil contains minerals, air, water, organic matter, and “critters”. Yes. That’s right. Critters. All those little squirmy, wiggly things that live underground. Bacteria. Fungi. … Read more
Fungal superhighways operate underground to decompose minerals and nutrients from soil and deliver them to plants. For this reason, fungi are powerful, yet too often overlooked additions to plant production. Many industrial agricultural techniques damage these fungal communities, resulting in less than optimal crop yields, reduced crop nutrition, and increased need for agrochemicals. As a result, … Read more
Recently, I was invited into a discussion on the potential for “solar powered nitrogen factories”. The dialog dealt with using legumes and grasses as cover crops to increase soil fertility. This is of course, a great strategy which farmers are adopting at large scales. As the cover crops grow, they release sugars that feed soil … Read more