By Jason “Pepe”
All living things depend on the soil. Healthy soil is not dirt! What you sweep from the garage floor or vacuum out of your carpet is dirt. Soil is healthy, alive and can be thought of as a micro universe. Sampling soil under a microscope opens up another universe loaded with beneficial organisms.
This other universe is referred to as The Soil Food Web. This micro universe is composed of many players. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa and a wide range of other organisms exist in it. Mites, nematodes and even earthworms are part of it also. All the creatures on our planet depend on the soil food web. We are no exception to the rule.
Speaking of rules lets think about the old butter commercial that you might recall. Is it butter or is it margarine? Remember that one? It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature!
So let me get back to the soil and farming.
Today farming is in a transition. For more than 30 years the idea of farming organically has been gaining traction. Every day, slowly we are finding the wisdom of the old farmers to be quite valuable. To understand how and why we changed to predominantly synthetic farming methods requires that we go back in time a bit.
After World War 2 many modern methods developed to farm the land. New scientific research promised to bring us higher crop yields with synthetic fertilizers and insecticides. This modern science based technology spawned a synthetic revolution. Old methods of farming began to slowly disappear as more and more farmers began to rely on the so called modern methods.
Huge corporate empires evolved that changed minds and sold us on the virtues of modern farming technology. Pesticides like DDT, herbicides, fertilizers and other synthetic products that could be created in the lab had great value. DDT was eventually banned after serious damage to wildlife and the ecosystem occurred.
Big profits are made when patents are filed and products are put into (almost forced) the hands of the farmer. Bigger profits are yet on the horizon as corporations continue to patent and control seeds and our ability to grow our own food. What do you think Genetically Modified Organisms are all about? They are about control, profit and ultimately will increase disease by malnutrition of human kind.
Now let’s fast forward to 2012 and look at the health of people and the health of our soil. All the science did was to pollute our air, water and as a result seriously damage the natural soil food web. Today we look at the soil and the organisms in it differently. Healthy soil does not allow pathogens to breed. Healthy soil is teaming with organisms beneficial to plants, animals and humans. Healthy soil is possible when we keep the synthetics out and allow nature and the microorganisms that belong in the soil to prosper.
It amazes me that we think about our health often by thinking about our digestive system. We are told to eat a healthy diet and be sure to have healthy bacteria in our gut. We are told to buy pro biotics, eat yogurt and take all the other magic pills offered over the counter. When you think about your stomach, think about friendly and not so friendly bacteria. Think about the soil food web.
Farming without synthetics and restoring balance
One of the best ways to fertilize your plants is by utilizing natural ingredients found in compost.
There are many ways to create compost and that is a topic for another article. Here we will touch briefly on the use of compost tea and some of the benefits.
Compost tea is a water based extract of compost that can be applied to both the soil and directly to plant surfaces. Home-made biological extracts of this type have been in use for hundreds of years. One reason for its use is that the extracts offer better health, growth and vitality to plants. Conventional farming methods relied on the heavens, stars planets and natural earth cycles. The farmer of the past relied on mother earth and used its wisdom to live a healthier life. Hard work, clean water and good soil provided super nutritious food.
Application of synthetic non organic pesticides and fertilizers harm the soil food web and all of us.
Organic farming methods rely on heavy composting, mulching, crop rotation companion planting and much more. Providing plants with nutrients is more than just thinking about NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) Remember the soil food web? Well I hope so. All those organisms work together to feed on each other and to release nutrients found in healthy soil. The shredded banana, lettuce, egg shells and other kitchen scraps you composted will feed the organisms and they in turn will help you to have great soil. Pathogens are eliminated because millions of good bacteria, fungi etc out compete the bad guys.
In the past compost tea was brewed by letting compost sit in a large pail or a jar in the sun for a day or two. That created a type of compost tea that was anaerobic. Anaerobic means without oxygen. This type of tea was implemented but today a better healthier way is being used.
Today actively aerated compost tea has emerged on the scene. The technology involves agitating compost in a water bath to dislodge bacteria and other microbes as well as humic substances. Microbial foods are then added to the liquid to promote multiplication and growth while air is bubbled into the brew to keep it from becoming anaerobic while the microbes are multiplying. Actively aerated compost tea typically takes from 12 to 24 hours to “brew” – at which time the microbes have taken up all of the added food and become dormant. Actively aerated compost teas do not have a long shelf life however, and in fact, unless aeration continues they should be used within 12 hours of production.
So know let me say that you can add a special fermented blend that is both Aerobic and Anaerobic. This fermented product can be added to the Aerated tea and increase the brews shelf life and its effectiveness.
The fermented product contains additional microorganisms such as: Lactic Acid, phototrophic bacteria, certain strains of yeasts, fermentative fungi and actinomycetes.
Think about this! Who fertilizes the trees in the forest? How do they look when man leaves them alone?
Let’s give the soil what was naturally in it. Let’s help undo the damage we inflicted on Mother Nature. Start using quality compost teas and you will see, feel and taste the difference!
