Ed. — From the Sunday, May 24, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — I’m returning to where I started as an erstwhile writer – soil, my first topic for The Independent News and the center of my philosophy about growing food.
We must be stewards of our most important resource, the soil in which we grow our food, which feeds the plants that cleans the air we breath, holds our water, feeds our animals.
I’ve recently come across some resources I recommend to all who love to grow food, from the lifelong farmer to the fledgling gardener.
One is a book geared toward gardeners called Building Soils Naturally by Phil Nauta, a certified organic land-care professional who writes about practical ways to support soils that produce nutritious food.
Another resource is a documentary called Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem by Gabe Brown, a North Dakota rancher I have mentioned here previously. You can learn more about the documentary about building healthy soils online at the Living Web Farms website via livingwebfarms.org.
Both were informative, inspirational works that explain ideas behind building healthy soils in natural ways that are sustainable and productive.
As I have said here many times before, if you eat food, you should get educated about how it is grown and how to grow it. Those of us who farm can grow nutrient-dense food. Gardeners can slowly increase soil fertility.
This isn’t about shortcuts. This is about sticking with strong practices over time.
Farmers can take steps to avoid challenges that come from working the same land over time. Brown’s documentary discusses the use of cover crops as a staple of his system, something discussed in my last column about the Virginia Dare Soil and Water Conservation District, which serves Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
Brown, though a rancher, does plenty of growing, too. He recommends using a variety of species for cover crops at one time because it mimics nature.
A pasture or meadow left to its own devices supports a wide variety of plants. Cover crops are truly amazing, and there are many ways to use them.
It’s important to know when they will be used and how. Are they a cold weather crop or a warm weather crop? Are they an annual or a perennial? Do they winter kill by themselves? Or do you have to mow or roller crimp? Are you using them to increase fertility or as a “shield” against excessive heat?
There are remarkable differences in soil temperature between covered and uncovered soils, and this affects how well the plants grow. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources locally about what cover crops might work in which situations to achieve certain goals. Virginia Dare, of course, is one of our local resources.
Letting nature do your work for you through cover crops is one of the things Brown recommends in the documentary. A farmer can use it to “stockpile” feed for animals and let animals graze on it. Then grow a cash crop on it by seeding it in as a no-till crop.
Focusing on taking care of the soil leads to the soil taking care of itself and feeding the plants we use and rely upon.
Of course, many of us are not working enough land to worry about big-scale issues, but gardeners can use and adapt some of the ideas in the documentary and book.
Nauta is very detailed in his book for gardeners, but it is the sort of book you can read straight through or peruse then pick and choose based upon your interests.
He also summarizes at the end of each chapter so you get a good idea of the central ideas. Food will grow in less-than-optimal conditions, but, as Nauta notes, who doesn’t want to grow the best food? He states that the difference is very noticeable in your mouth and on your taste buds.
Nauta emphasizes the use of well-made compost, which is music to my ears, and spends two chapters explaining why it makes a difference.
Soil is greatly enhanced by increasing organic matter. Benefits include water drainage, water retention, increases in the soil’s ability to use nutrients and as a better home for the all-important microbes and bugs who are the unsung heroes.
People who care about our future – or just want to eat tastier, healthier foods – will enjoy these works which explain how to build and why we need healthy soils. It all starts with the soil for gardeners, farmers and even scribblers like me.
The author, a farmer and consultant, writes about sustainable farming and gardening for The Independent News. Reach him via farmerjohnnewearth@yahoo.com.
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