Repairing the soil

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:

• Keep the soil covered with plants. Either fast growing cover crops or any surplus plants you have. The live roots feed and aerate the soil. Before the plants go to seed, they can be chopped and dropped as mulch.​
• Using benign non-invasive weeds as mulch on top of the soil.
• Reducing water and nutrient run off where possible.
• Adding a thick layer of compost and/or mulch to improve the soil structure and help hold water. No need to dig it in; leave that to the worms.
• Weeds indicate what the soil needs and grow where they are needed. Leave them in if they don’t annoy you. Chop them down before they go to seed though.​​
• Leave rotting branches around to encourage ecosystems and diversity.

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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.