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What ls Living Soil?
D
id you know fertile and
healthy soil is very much
alive?
In a thimbleful of
fertile soil there may be
100,000 protozoa, two
billion bacteria and 30
million fungal plants. In poor
soil there may be few.
Under !he lores! floor , in
fertile cropland, in your
garden, is a silent (lo us)
beehive of activity of
microscopic life-and death.
lt's the story of !he eater
and the eaten. This complex
living community of
organisms changes mineral
and humus matter so its
nutrients can be available to
nourish plan! and animal lile
of many kinds.
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you could closely look
at sorne soil organisms, for
example, you would see
them attach themselves
directly to plan! roots. The
result is symbiotic
relationships beneficia! lo
both.One example is the
nitrogen-fixing rhizobium in
legumes such as soybeans
and alfalfa.
Other soil organisms act
independently of plants and
are free-fi xers of nitrogen or
other nutrients in the soil.
While sorne organisms need
humus and oxygen lo
survive, others are
anaerobic-they don'! need
free oxygen. They gain
energy by working on
mineral matter.
When these organisms
die, the minerals and
proteins of their bodies are
made available lo plants or
other organisms.
Now consider another
vital factor in living
soil-humus.
Oecayed plan! and animal
wastes we call humus or
organic matter. Humus feeds
the majority of
microorganisms in the soil .
October / November 198 1
Wi thout !he presence of
humus and the activity of
microorganisms we could
not have renewal of topsoil
from !he subsoil below.
Humus and substances
from microorganisms help
cement soil particles in
clusters or aggregates. This
clustering creates pockets
of air and gives good soil a
crumbly, ai ry texture you can
feel with your fingers. lt
discourages encrustation.
The open air space in soils
is critically importan!. lt
allows plan! roots and
microorganisms lo breathe,
instead of suffocate. Rains
are absorbed deeper and
laster into such soils rather
than running off.
God made humus to play
a vital role in soil quality and
fertility. Humus-rich sandy
soils hold more water and
hold it nearer plan! roots
instead of letting water and
nutrients leach out. Heavy
clay soils need to be rich in
humus, too, for them to be
easily broken up and work–
able. Humus-bonded soils
are more resistan! to water
and wind erosion. They
better resist periods of
droughts and floods. Heavy
emphasis on use of
chemicals and fertilizers in
farming makes soil surface
particles more erodible, and
deeper soil partieres denser.
harder lo work.
In lertile soil earthworms
proliferate, as do other small
soil creatures. Oid you know
that earthworms are like
larmers in the soil with a
hoe or plow?-only they
charge nothing lor their
services! Earthworms pull in
and mix humus in the soil.
They bring up subsoil
partieres and mix sand, sil!
and clays in a loam of tons
of rich castings on every
acre. These workers of the
soil are additionally
invaluable as they help
aerate the soil and make
pathways for deep-seeking
plan! roots. A sign of sick
soil in temperate zones is
lack of worms.
Good farmers and
gardeners respect the lile of
!he soil. They protect their
precious resource by
returning sufficient humus,
animal wastes or composts
to lhe soil. This is the law of
return essential for
maintaining healthy soils.
use different amounts ol
essential nutrients for their
growth, or they will add
something lo the soil helpful
lo another crop. Sorne
legumes, like alfalfa for
example, are nitrogen fixers
and their roots reach deep
into subsoils for nutrients and
thus place humus matter
(their roots) in them. This
helps condition subsoils lor
laler use as topsoils.
The law ol return means
lhat nutrients taken out of
fertile soil must be given back
in a constructive and useable
lorm. Modern man's
agricultura! practices more
and more are ignoring this
cycle lo !he destruction of
soils and humans supported
ORGANIC MATTER
in soil tends to neutralize or buffer both
exc essively alkaline and acid soils. Soil samples determine pH
(acidity or alka/inity) that affec ts availabi lity of soil nutrients.
Good farmers use
appropriate conservation
practices. They rotate crops.
Crop rotation prevents rapid
soil depletion. Crops used
one year may be shallow
rooted, drawing most of their
nutrients from that level. The
following year the good
farmer plants deeper rooted
plants, which draw much of
their nulrients from
another~
level. The soil is used more
evenly and efficiently.
Under a good rotation
system, different crops will
by them. Modern man throws
organic wastes away, he
buries or burns them or
washes them into rivers or
oceans. He pours on
powerful concentrations of
chemicals. He pollutes his
land and water supplies whi le
!he primary physical resource
of his civilization-soil–
languishes and erodes away.
Whether we are only a
small gardener or a big
farmer , it is critica! that we all
learn lo care for !he soil as a
living organism. o
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