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“Urban dwellers and other growers have been pouring toxic chemicals of their soils for years, without recognizing that those chemicals harm the very thing that makes soil healthy.”
Elaine Ingham (“Teaming with Microbes, The Organic Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web”, Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis)
What is healthy soil?
To answer this question, what is soil must be answered.
Soil, by definition is unconsolidated mineral and organic (humus) material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as the natural media for most plant growth.
In simple terms, soil is the all the loose, broken up pieces usually on the top 4 to 6 inches of the surface of the earth that allows plants to grow in. This includes all the small pieces of rocks (minerals) and decaying plant matter (humus).
Soil differs in color, texture, structure and nutrient value across the globe, but the use remains the same. You need soil to grow plants in the ground, you need soil to grow food.
Healthy soil therefore, has a mix of life, organic matter and the ability to ward off infestation and diseases. Most people don’t realize that the major portion of the plant is actually underground in the soil, and the healthier the soil is the healthier your garden will be.
What lives inside soil?
It’s difficult to understand what you can not see. You can look through a telescope and can see the stars in space, you can look through the window of a submarine you can see the ocean floor clearly, can see look around and see what is on top of the earth’s crust. But what lies below is just now being tapped into.
Healthy Soil contains life. On average soil contains billions of lifeforms, and the majority you can not see. These include insects, spiders, earthworms, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes to name a few.
Each life form has an individual task to accomplish which in turn creates a check and balance system within the soil.