Cycles by their very nature do not have a definite beginning or end. Likewise a true organic gardener does not see a beginning or an end to their gardening season.

Building good soil is part of a cycle where you just have to begin where you are. And isn’t that the way it is in all of life. Begin where you are and move forward. As long as you are taking positive steps to improve your situation (be it the soil, a relationship, a personal goal) you are making progress and that is all we can really hope to achieve in our brief stay on this earth.

Soil is all about life!

Go out into your garden right now and look down on that little piece of soil beneath your feet. There is more life in that soil than all the other life on earth. It is truly amazing!

For your success in your garden you need to support that life, feed that life. Recognize that the food you grow in your garden is a direct result of the health of that life. Understand the soil food web and the balance of the soil food web and you unlock the mystery of the abundance of the garden.

Here is an example of the complexity and simplicity of how the life in your soil works to benefit you and your garden.

Let’s look at the question of calcium in the soil. Calcium has always taken the back seat to the big boys of soil fertility with NPK always in the limelight of soil nutrition.

But calcium plays more in the role of overall soil and plant health than any other nutrient. In the soil, calcium helps provide a better environment for healthy levels of beneficial bacteria. In the plant it plays a major role in the construction of hormone and enzyme systems that protect the plant from insect and disease attack. Proper levels of calcium within the plant cell strengthens the plant allowing for efficient use of sunlight, CO2, water, nitrogen, and minerals.

So now that we know the importance of calcium in the soil, how do we make sure that calcium is available in the soil in the right form to do the job?

The immediate suggestion that always seems to come to mind is the use of Gypsum. While Gypsum will help with loosening the soil in the case of clay soil, too much will create an imbalance of other minerals and ultimately does not raise the level of calcium in the soil in a form that can be utilized by the plant.

The best way to provide calcium is always to mimic nature. Mother Nature really does know best and if you can discover the secrets she uses to keep a healthy balance in the soil you will be far ahead of anyone who uses chemicals to try to treat a deficiency in the soil.

Build the beneficial fungus in your soil food web. This is the most common missing microbe in agricultural soils. We simply do too much to our soil that destroy it. The simple act of tilling the soil destroys fungal life. It rips it apart like the tornados that are ravaging our homeland right now in the news.

Feed the fungal life in your soil with great fungal foods like fish hydrolysate (with as much fish oil as possible), humic acid, feather meal, non-GMO soybean meal and pine straw.

Many will tell you that pine needles make the soil acidic but it is much more likely the fungus that eats the pine needles.

To grow healthy plants you must have a complete, healthy soil food web.

Once you replace the beneficial fungus in your soil food web you can apply much less than the recommended amount suggested by your soil test and keep it in the soil available for your plants. Use ground or crushed limestone or sea shells.

So here you have it in a sea shell.

• Build your beneficial fungal life. Research brewing fungal tea in a AACT tea brewer.
• Don’t destroy the beneficial fungal life your already have by tilling and applying chemicals.
• Feed your beneficial fungal life by adding great fungal foods.
• Do your own research.
• Don’t go for the quick fix.
• Do what’s best for the earth.

Growing your own food is the only way to know for sure what you are feeding your family. You can grow the most nutritious, most delicious food by growing it in healthy, thriving, life-giving soil.

Start your love affair with your soil today. Go out, grab a handful of it…have your soil tested, feel it, smell it, dig a hole and fill it with water and see how long it takes for the water to seep away. Take good notes on how your garden grows this year. What does well, what kind of pest, what kind of beneficials. Become a careful observer and your soil will tell you what it needs.

Chrsity Ruffner
Mother Earth’s Farm
http://motherearthsfarm.com/
Mother knows best! For a list of premium, organic soil amendments and fertilizers go to my website at http://motherearthsfarm.com/organic_fertilizers.htm