The healthier the soil, the healthier our vegetables and crops. The fact is, soil sustains human life by providing food for not only us to eat, but also our livestock. The earth’s surface is made up of 25% soil, of which only 10% can be used to produce food.
Soil contains everything a plant needs, air, water, and food. The quality of the soil directly affects the plants, as the nutrients in soil are soaked up by the plants. These nutrients can be chemical based or organic. The hazardous chemicals fed to plants are absorbed to make them grow faster, bigger, produce more food and suppress weeds are the same chemical that eventually end up on your plate. Organic based soil amendments have the same affect on plants without the negative effect of chemicals.
Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune, the National Resources Conservation Service’s soil health division director, said, “Organic matter and living organisms provide the foundation for soil to function properly, allowing it to take in, store and deliver water to plants, among many other benefits.”
How Can We Maintain Healthy Soil?
Avoid chemical based fertilizers, though they may destroy unwanted pests and grow a beautiful tomato, it also creates a soil imbalance and destroys living organisms, both of which are vital for healthy plants.
To build soil fertility and replenish nutrients, establish a crop rotation.
Protect the soil from losing nutrients by planting cover crops.
Incorporate organic worm materials into the soil, which naturally increases the microbes, improves the health of the soil and increases plant productivity.
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences puts it well when talking about how healthy soil should function: “In order to grow our crops, we want the soil to hold water and nutrients like a sponge where they are readily available for plant roots to take them up, suppress pests and weeds that may attack our plants, sequester carbon from the atmosphere and clean the water that flows through it into rivers, lakes and aquifers.”
Today’s newest research proves worms are the worlds unsung heroes. Research shows vermicompost improves seed germination, stimulates plant growth, increases productivity, while preventing diseases and ability to retain water and repel pests.
Orlando’s Vermitechnology is a popular organic alternative to the ill-effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, for both people and the environment. Black worm casting help boosts soil through the introduction of micro-nutrients and beneficial soil organisms, increasing the uptake of nutrients by the plant and improving the health of the plants themselves.