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We want to encourage a diverse kingdom of creatures in the soil.Many of the gardens we work in haven’t had attention for several years and the soil is dormant. We want to build a healthy underground soil kingdom. This is the soil food web - a complex community of microbes, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and more. These creatures all deliver benefits to the soil, the plants, and the people who eat those plants. How we restore the soil  Crimson clover adds nitrogen to the soil, feeds bees and looks good. To do this we need to boost and keep improving the soil. We do this continually as part of our gardening practice. The soil life helps fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and feeds other nutrients to the plants. Some ways to do this:
We work with what’s there rather than making radical changes. With some gentle input from us, nature will restore balance. Just as it took a while to deplete the soil, improving it isn’t a quick fix. It's part of regular gardening. Read Soil - the basis of garden health  A simple compost pile produces soil alive with worms and other essential creatures for the garden.
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The ideal garden is a healthy ecosystem where plants, insects, birds, microbes, lizards, ie nature, work together, as they did before people started interfering with the land. A key part of a healthy ecosystem is the essential life in the soil: the microorganisms, insects, fungi and a heap of creatures we can’t see. How the land gets damaged When land has been worked and planted to create a certain look or function, essential aspects are removed over the years resulting in soil which can’t function properly and goes dormant.
Many factors contribute to dormant soil. For example, cultivation, earth works, chemicals eg fertilisers, mono-culture planting and bare soil . Also maybe no organic matter has been added to replace nutrients the plants use. Some of these problems are unavoidable, but for others we can try different practices to get a result that works for us and our garden. See Repairing the soil Comfrey has many benefits. Get the sterile one, Symphytum Officinale (common comfrey), which is propagated by the root, not seeds. The tap root goes deep into the soil to bring up the nutrients for nearby plants. Plant it under your fruit trees with a wild flower mix that attracts beneficial insects. You can also soak the leaves in water for a health tonic for your plants. The plants below are going in a client's orchard this week.  Comfrey's taproot goes deep into the soil bringing nutrients to nearby plants and improving the soil. When it does off over winter,, you can use the leaves as a plant mulch. It's especially good under fruit trees |
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