Feed the Soil First

Reader Contribution by Stan Slaughter
Published on March 10, 2016
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Sir Albert Howard, the father of the modern organic movement, spoke about a threshold of life in the soil. Nature, he said, was generous with her bounty, if she had something to give. When the soil was worn out from a shortage of organic matter (less than about 4 percent), Nature would indeed grow crops but they would be unhealthy and destined for a short life. These unhealthy crops would be attacked by disease and pests and return quickly to the soil as mulch to build up organic matter.

No healthy crop would be produced until Nature’s storehouse was filled. Older farming practices like fallowing the land for a year honored this truth. Mulching, adding compost and using cover crops are some of the ways to increase organic matter in the soil.

A Community of Life in the Soil

What we know about the community of life in a healthy soil is that it is wildly diverse with a broad range of species. With so many members in the community, there is an answer for every problem. Every pest has a mortal foe waiting to attack it. There might be some occasional pest damage but very rarely a complete takeover by a particular pest or disease.

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