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SOIL FOOD WEB BIOLOGY

Compost with Confidence this Fall
November 1, 2025

November To-Do List

November brings a flurry of activity for serious composters. Those of us with the goal ...

October 1, 2025

Rats!

Fall is here, and if you’ve been reading this column for a while you’ll know ...

September 1, 2025

Warmer Soils

The Canadian plant hardiness zone maps have been updated and Cowichan has moved from zone ...

August 1, 2025

Berries for Breakfast

Picking berries for breakfast is one of my favourite things to do in the summer. ...

July 22, 2025

Fishy Business

Fish have long delivered fertility to the soil, via both natural and human-driven processes. Soil ...

June 1, 2025

Lovely Legumes

Many legumes (plants in the pea and bean family) possess a cool skill.  In an ...

May 1, 2025

Spring Stockpiling

Soil Food Web-minded folk tend to focus on building compost piles in the spring and ...

April 1, 2025

Bioreactor Buzz

With things shifting economically these days, it seems like a good time to focus on ...

March 1, 2025

The Soil Food Web – For Families!

March marks the beginning of workshop season here at the soil lab. Traipsing around the ...

February 1, 2025

No-till Inspiration

No-till Inspiration February is usually the time when I a) really wish I’d written down ...

January 3, 2025

Seed-Sowing in December – Really?

Yes really!  And into winter too… so you have an extra Christmas gift idea up ...

December 1, 2024

Spread that Fall Compost!

Fall finds me smiling for many reasons, not least of which is thinking about all ...

Biologically Complete Compost
October 1, 2024

Biologically Complete Compost

When we are looking to restore life to the soil, our most important tool is ...

Tomatoes in the garden
September 1, 2024

Health You Can Taste

What a sweet time of year.  Well into the growing season there’s such an abundance ...

Brix testing for plants
July 1, 2024

Capturing Liquid Sunlight

Leaves are like little solar panels.  Chasing the sun, they combine solar energy with water ...

Mycorrhizal Fungi
June 30, 2024

DIY Mycorrhizal Fungi for Veggies

Mycorrhizal fungi are “obligate symbionts”, meaning that they need a host plant to survive.  Endomycorrhizal ...

Claytonia perfoliata. An annual edible, native ground cover option.
May 1, 2024

And a Roof Overhead

I don’t know about you, but it seems like a lot of people are bracing ...

April 1, 2024

Seeds with Sense

It blows my mind every time: if you look at current estimates of the amount ...

Hope Farm
March 1, 2024

Seasonal Sampling

Soil biology numbers change across seasonal cycles.  Understanding what mediates the flurries of activity of ...

Winter compost
February 1, 2024

Winter Composting Tips

At this latitude there probably aren’t too many people actively winter composting, unless you have ...

December 1, 2023

Let There Be Air

Compaction is a pretty big deal when you’re trying to grow plants.  How far can ...

November 1, 2023

How’s Your Soil Structure?

It’s always seemed to me like we have a water storage problem, rather than a ...

Hope Farms
October 1, 2023

What Is Regenerative Agriculture?

At it’s most basic, regenerative agriculture involves leaving the soil in better condition than it ...

September 1, 2023

Herbs, Weeds, and a Nice Surprise

The most challenging thing about helping people partner with microbes in their gardens is encouraging ...

Brassicas
August 1, 2023

The Thing About Brassicas

An old feeling hits at this time of year.  With the flurry of spring planting ...

Farming with Fungi
July 1, 2023

Water Woes

I’ve been thinking a lot about water these days, standing for what feels like hours ...

Spring Hill Compost Testing
June 1, 2023

Bring Back the (Right) Microbes!

Every region has unique microorganisms dwelling in the soil, adapted to the climate, flora, fauna ...

April 1, 2023

Spring Tips for Nurturing Soil Microbes

With the spring warmth comes that sense of shift in energy and vitality, like something ...

Forest
March 1, 2023

The Dance of Succession

There’s a dance going on, above and below ground.  It’s an intelligent dance – in ...

Fungi
February 1, 2023

Ancient Relationships

In our fragmented society, where concepts of competition and survival of the fittest pervade our ...