Here's a secret no fertilizer industry wants you to know. Good soil actually contains everything that a plants needs to thrive without additional inputs. Don't believe me? Go into the forest, reach into the dirt, and have a sniff. That sweet smell is clean, biodynamic soil. In your hands are trace elements, micro nutrient, and more living organisms that people on the planet. We want our compost heaps, soil, and entire property to have that sweet smell of life.

Without healthy soil, we can't have healthy plants. Without healthy plants, we can’t have healthy animals. The soil food web is an important cycle. I think of it more as a circle. Let me break it down real quick. Plants utilize nutrient in the soil combined with the sun's energy to produce sugars, proteins, and carbohydrates that feed beneficial bacteria and fungi in the soil. Bacteria eat pathogens and parasites that would otherwise be harmful to the plant. Fungi collect additional water, allow host plants to take up available phosphate ions, and protect against disease. Fungi and bacteria are a food source for larger macro species like protozoa, nematodes (or worms), and arthropods (small insects). Their waste byproduct is an invaluable nutrient now readily available for plants. They are also a food source for birds and larger animals, and so, the cycle repeats.

It Starts with Healty Soil

How can we promote a healthy soil food web? Create more food and habitat for these beneficial micro organisms by adding additional plant matter, or compost to our soils. We can go a step further by inoculating soils, plants, and compost piles with living beneficial bacteria, fungi. By repeating this process regularly we can ensure sustainability and more importantly abundance.