I don’t know about you, but it seems like a lot of people are bracing for this summer to be very hot and very dry. Increasing the amount and diversity of life belowground can help plants build resiliency for these kinds of extremes. We rely on soil microbes to make the spongy soil structure required for water retention, and to gather the essential micronutrients plants need so they are not already stressed when stressful conditions arise. Microbes are our strongest allies in developing a more resilient local food system.

Bare soil and searing temperatures are a microbe’s worst nightmare. Soil microbes are a lot like us. They need air, water, food, and a roof overhead. Providing a living roof builds soil and microbial health more quickly. Living plant cover over the entire soil surface lowers soil temperature (so the microbes stay alive), diversifies the beneficial organisms present (improves structure and air), lowers evaporation (so the microbes have enough moisture to move about) and turns sunshine into a constant supply of plant exudates (microbe food).

The ideal scenario would be to plant a fairly non-competitive, 2-6 inch high, deep rooted, fast-growing and side-ways spreading, somewhat shade tolerant group of (preferably native) perennial plants as a year-round ground cover. Come spring, you would dig a furrow in this living mat, wide enough to allow your crop time to establish above the ground cover. The year-round living roots would already harbor the mycorrhizal fungi that is needed for your plants (or not, in the case of brassicas), and share the same preference for ratio of fungi to bacteria. Did I mention no weeds? Sounds like a dream situation I know… but I’m giving it a go and you can help me on this one!

I am looking for enthusiasts who are willing to try growing the following native plants in various combinations in a garden setting: Nodding Onion, Pussytoes, Woolly Sunflower, Self-Heal, Field Chickweed, Yerba Buena, Beach Strawberry, Wood Strawberry, Wild Strawberry, Broadleaf/Yellow Stonecrop, Satinflower, Miner’s Lettuce, Blue-eyed Mary, Sea Blush. If this is you, and you’re willing to help on a very informal multi-year project to improve food security in the Cowichan region, shoot me an email at [email protected]. Drop me a line if you’re interested in non-native possibilities, too.