Soil Structure
Spread that Fall Compost!
Fall finds me smiling for many reasons, not least of which is thinking about all the Soil Food Webbers out there happily and diligently applying microbes to the soil. Where do those microbes come from? Compost of course! Conventional wisdom would have us see compost as a fertilizer; containing soluble nutrients prone to leaching or […]
And a Roof Overhead
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 […]
Let There Be Air
Compaction is a pretty big deal when you’re trying to grow plants. How far can roots go down before they hit “hard pan” and must go sideways? How far can water infiltrate until it, too, must go sideways, leaching soluble nutrients and potentially carrying precious topsoil away? Compaction can be caused by the weight of […]
How’s Your Soil Structure?
It’s always seemed to me like we have a water storage problem, rather than a drought problem, here on the island. Ask any permaculturalist or regenerative farmer the best way to store water and they will tell you, hands down, that it’s in the soil. Storing water this way requires good soil structure, and for […]
Water Woes
I’ve been thinking a lot about water these days, standing for what feels like hours on end (it’s really not), hand-watering veggies. Irony wafts around me as I follow the existing drip irrigation system. Why? When I initially had the system installed, the plan was to eventually wean my way off it. This came from […]
Soil Matters
If you’re anything like me, hearing doom and gloom numbers about the rapidly dwindling diversity in the biosphere is enough to do your head (and heart) in. Knowing that you can make a real impact, and that there are simple places to start, is a welcome antidote to the paralysis that can come with this […]
Of Nematodes and Nightshades
Ever gone to the trouble of making compost and applying it, only to be disappointed with the results? Or worse still, ever purchased compost only to discover that it wasn’t worth the money?