Words & Photos Stacey Toews
Healthy food comes from healthy soil. Give soil respect and it will give you a lot in return, yet most people, gardeners included, have not considered how to respect soil.
Over the course of the gardening season (about 12 years ago) when I implemented the lessons in this article, most of my crops doubled in volume because,
for the first time, I’d learned to respect soil!
The three ways to show respect for soil could be phrased “The Three Soil Commandments”:
1. Thou shalt not COMPACT soil.
2. Thou shalt not TILL soil.
3. Thou shalt not EXPOSE soil.
If you’re like most gardeners, your initial reaction may be like mine: “how do you expect me to garden without compacting, tilling and exposing soil?”
Here’s the good news if you lean into this: you’ll work less in the garden, your garden will produce more, and you’ll learn a lot in the process.
Here are examples of what gardeners often do in their yearly cycles and some suggestions of what they can do to show respect to soil:
1. In fall after harvest: dig up soil vs cover the soil.
2. During spring prep: walk on growing area vs. walk around growing area.
3. During planting: dig up all growing area vs. only loosen soil where seeds/starts will be planted.
4. After planting: leave soil exposed vs. cover ALL soil around ALL seeds/starts.
5. When harvesting: pull and uproot vegetable plants (i.e. cabbages) vs severing the stem and leaving roots in the ground.
When I was early into gardening, I was recommended a book by a now famous grower in Japan named Masanobu Fukuoka. The book is called One Straw Revolution, and I highly recommend you explore his notion of “do nothing farming” which remains a wonderful aspiration to all gardeners!
Now, back to respecting soil: think of yourself at the public swimming pool sauntering around the pool deck chatting with a friend when someone sneaks up behind you and yanks your bathing suit OFF. Your first reaction … COVER UP!
Soil, like you in your birthday suit on the pool deck, wants to cover up when exposed. When we uncover soil, it reacts strongly (in a state of trauma) and grows weeds ASAP while welcoming anything that gets scattered on top of it to prevent the direct bombardment of UV rays, rain and wind.
Learn from a look at creation around us – whether it’s a forested hillside or a prairie grassland, it will always try to cover up when its soil is exposed.
If we try to “break down” soil, we discover that it’s comprised something like this …
• Water 20-30%
• Air/gases 20-30%
• Minerals (sand, silt, clay) 45%
• Soil organic matter 5%
Yes, up to half of your soil’s volume is air and water! That’s part of the reason why soil is
so disrupted when it’s tilled or compacted.
Let’s wrap up with some of the most practical ways to protect and respect your soil. Create areas where you walk that are distinct from where you grow. Raised garden beds – with paths between them – make this very simple! Access free items to cover soil. The five best things I’ve found to cover soil are: leaves, grass clippings, cardboard, coffee sacks (*see below) and straw.
Here’s what will happen as your soil is covered and becomes healthier:
1. Way fewer weeds will be in your garden
2. Your veggies will grow bigger (no competition with weeds)
3. Soil will retain water longer (I suggest drip irrigation to target ONLY your crops)
*Want coffee sacks for free? Local coffee roaster, Level Ground Coffee, leaves out organic coffee sacks for pick up each weekend at 1757 Sean Heights in Saanichton – first come, first serve.
Send me an email to arrange a time to speak to your Gardening Group or to come visit me and my garden: sustainablestace@gmail.com.
