What makes plants thrive in soil and not dirt?
Both soil and dirt have the same nutrient content… but soil also has a microbiome comprised of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. Dirt has little to no microbiome, it is dead or lacking in any or all of these microorganisms.
Plants on their own have very little capacity to absorb nutrients directly from the soil. Soil nutrients need to be pre-digested by the bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. The waste excreted from these microorganisms become the food source for plant life.
What’s fascinating about plants is that they know what nutrients they need to thrive, so to communicate their dietary needs, they emit “exosomes” or messages into the soil. Exosomes tell the bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes what the plant needs (magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, silica, etc) and where to find it (rocks, silt, clay, sand, etc). The microorganisms then digest those elements in the soil and excrete the mineral that the plant needs to thrive.
When there is good balance in the microorganisms of the soil, the plant and the microorganisms maintain the health of the garden by creating a line of defense against pests and harmful insects.
There is no need for additional insecticides or fungicides when the microbiome of soil is balanced.
In fact…
The quickest way to turn viable soil into useless dirt is to spray with insecticides and fungicides.
These chemicals kill not only pesky bugs but all the microorganisms in the soil that were doing the work to feed your plants. With no microorganisms in the soil to do the pre-digestion of nutrients, the plants do not thrive.
And with no microorganisms in the soil, you have no line of defense against predatory bugs. Insecticides to soil are very similar to antibiotics to the human gut microbiome. Just like soil, we humans need a variety of different bacteria to aid in our assimilation of nutrients and to support our own immune defense.
That is why it is essential to follow any use of antibiotic with a probiotic - to restore some of the gut microbiome, to increase prebiotic foods in our diet, to feed the diversity of gut bacteria, and to repopulate our gut lining for long term digestive and immune health.
Restoring the microbiome to the soil is the foundational principle in regenerative agriculture. This study shows that by restoring the microbiome to the soil, our plants are able to absorb up to 7 times more nutritional value than conventional farming in which the microbiome is destroyed through the use of insecticides. Eating foods that have 7 times the amount of nutritional value would have a huge impact on our health and allow us to reclaim our health from a diseased state faster.
Two ways to introduce regenerative agriculture at home:
1) To maintain a healthy viable garden and lawn, you must maintain a healthy microbiome of the soil. If you like to get your hands dirty, literally, get your soil tested by a soil health consultant. The consultant will help you build the right balance of microorganisms in your soil for what you are trying to grow.
Vegetables and flowers require a higher proportion of bacteria to fungi ratio in soil than deciduous trees or shrubs which are more fungi dominant. The consultant will teach you how to create your own composting recipe to enrich your specific soil needs.
Balancing the microbiome of your soil can be done through adding compost to the soil, tincturing compost, or creating a concentrated compost tea and applying it as a spray. Learn more about how to balance the microbiome of your soil or find a soil health consultant here.
2) If you’re not interested in learning to make your own compost but want to purchase amended soil compost, natural fertilizers and lawn care products safe for your pets, family and the environment. Check out Gardens Alive.
Consider our gut microbiome as the microcosm and the soil microbiome as the macrocosm.
Human health and our ability to thrive as a species is interdependent on how well we care for our soil and the environment. It is time that we stop viewing humans as superior to the earth and all its other inhabitants (animals, insects, flora and fauna) and see ourselves as a part of a greater whole.
If you are looking to be inspired by our interdependence with nature, I would recommend reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“Every day people give thanks to the land for all that it gives to us. In the silence that falls at the end of those words I listen, longing for the day when we can hear the land give thanks for the people in return.”