Soil Strong
By Rosser1954 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92647136
No-till Farming
No-till means we don't disturb the soil.
But why?
Think of healthy soil like a bustling underground city, teeming with microscopic homes and intricate pathways. When you till, it's like putting that city in a blender. Chaos!
By practicing no-till, we let that city thrive undisturbed, allowing it to build strong, natural infrastructure for happy, healthy plants.
Here are just a few of the superpowers this gives our soil (and your food!):
Stronger Soil Structure: It keeps the soil's natural architecture intact, making it like a super-absorbent sponge for water and nutrients.
Thriving Microbial Life: We protect the tiny, beneficial creatures – our "soil livestock" – that are crucial for feeding plants and building healthy soil.
Carbon Capture: This practice helps keep carbon locked in the ground.
Reduced Erosion: When the soil's structure is undisturbed, it stays put, preventing runoff.
Better Water Retention: Healthy, undisturbed soil absorbs and holds onto water more efficiently, making our plants more resilient.
And my favorite part? The incredible Mycorrhizae!
As the Okee Dokee Brothers sing, they're the 🎵 “mycelium underground news" 🎵 – the superhighways and communication networks of our bustling underground city.
This fungal network can connect multiple plants, sometimes even different species, forming a “wood wide web." Through this network, plants can exchange nutrients (like phosphorus, nitrogen, and water from the fungi to the plant), and fungi receive carbohydrates (sugars) from the plant's photosynthesis. There's also evidence of chemical signaling and nutrient sharing between plants themselves via the fungal network, making it a true communication network.
When this network goes into the blender, the mycorrhizae have to rebuild their communication system before they can effectively support the plants. By skipping the tilling and finding alternative ways to manage weeds and aerate the soil, we keep that city intact – ready to grow truly nutrient-dense veggies for you!
