2 years ago, we bought a house that was being eaten (for real) by #bamboo. With several months of actual blood, sweat, and tears, we got rid of the bamboo and uncovered 1/8 acre of beleaguered, nutrient-depleted land just begging to someday be a #garden.
A #compost is not soil.
It is an amendment for the #soil.
It is important to make a difference. Of course, we can grow plants in the compost, but what you are trying to fix by making compost is your soil.
This is why we believe here that compost is one solution to fix the #climatechange, we need to take care of the soil. It starts with the place we live at.
If you plant a tree every day, in a lifetime you will plant a forest.
Our habits make us, #composting is a very rewarding habit, if you do it every day, in a matter of years you will be able to fix your topsoil, #GrowYourOwn plants, and create abundance.
You will also do your part in putting the carbon back into the #soil and help balance the #climate.
Scientists sound the alarm over dramatic loss of 3 billion #birds in #NorthAmerica: ‘We’re watching … #extinction happen’
Story by Brittany Davies, July 14, 2023
"Since the 1970s, bird enthusiasts have watched the skies empty and heard the #birdsongs go silent as nearly 3 billion birds vanished in North America. Disturbed by the findings of an expansive body of research, scientists across the globe are sounding the alarm as half of the world’s bird populations are in decline.
"Found in every corner of the world from the snowy tundra of the #Arctic to the lush rainforests of the #Amazon, birds play a critical role in maintaining the delicate balance of their #ecosystems. Robust and diverse bird populations advance #pollination, help transport #seeds, and fertilize the #soil with their droppings.
"Observing and cataloging these fascinating creatures has long been a popular hobby and an important source of data for researchers and conservationists. Thanks in part to #CitizenScience reporting sites such as eBird, researchers have collected a wealth of information documenting the troubling decline of bird populations on nearly every continent.
"Peter Marra, a conservation biologist and dean of Georgetown University’s #EarthCommons Institute, and his colleagues studied multiple bird-monitoring datasets and found a disturbing trend. Using different methods to estimate population changes, Marra told Knowable Magazine, 'they all told us the same thing, which was that we’re watching the process of extinction happen.'"
However, the article goes on to say:
"Although the situation may seem dire, the news is not all bad. The tireless work of conservationists has restored numerous bird species from the edge of extinction, and populations of wetland species are increasing due in part to political action to protect their habitats. These stories of hope show that it is not impossible to reverse the decline.
"In addition to supporting wide-scale change and devoting resources to protecting #CriticalHabitats, restoring the bird population can begin in your local community and even your own #backyard. Take action at home by creating a #BirdSanctuary by growing #NativePlants and providing safe spaces for birds to eat, rest, and reproduce. Join a birding organization and participate in bird data collection.
"The knowledge shared across important crowd-sourced databases provides essential information to researchers on the state of birds."
It’s been interesting to see the depth of good soil before the clay layer starts too. Being no dig I only get to see the top soil depth when I do a project like this. This area has probably been undisturbed for nearly a decade. I wish I’d measured the top soil depth before I started down the no dig route.
I’ll add a lid and then worms and feed them some food scraps regularly. The worms should be safe from predation and be able to escape into the soil away from any extremes of heat and cold.
I’ll add a layer of sand or grit at the bottom to improve the water infiltration as the worm box it is now sitting directly on the clay layer.
The worms may just leave for somewhere better but I’m hoping they’ll stay and provide lots of worm poo for the plot.
Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) are captured & cultured by burying a box of cooked rice in the ground surrounded by leaf litter and fungal matter. White fuzz forms on the rice , this is IMO#1, add this to brown sugar and ferment it & you have a refrigerator stable IMO#2.
I added a tablespoon of IMO#2 to approx each 15 L of rainwater and mixed into bran until I had the right moisture level (i.e. when I squeezed the bran in my hand I had one or two drips of water between my fingers).
I used 35 kgs of bran. This should now heat up to 40°-50°C, will need turning to avoid going hotter. In a week this should be covered in white fuzz (IMO#3). 🤞
I’ll then add equal quantity of soil to the bran and again this should grow a white fuzz in a week. This will be IMO#4 and the end of the process. This can be stored and used as a biologically rich soil amendment.
Men are becoming a foe for biodiversity. We are disrupting their environment and barely care about it.
It is essential to change our approach to the way we grow food.
We should feed the soil first. By doing this we feed the biodiversity of the soil and in exchange, they provide us with the nutrients to grow our food.
Doing compost and always covering the soil will achieve a reliant soil.
I discovered these lovely little soil-based watercolors by The Art of Soil last week—I love the story behind them, and a soil scientist making soil paints is the epitome of #SciArt is it not?? 😍 Looking forward to trying them out, will report back!
My expertise is in #sustainable#transportation. My partner's is sustainable #forestry. Our knowledge bases don't overlap often, but they do when it comes to understanding the benefits of converting an erosion-prone, hard-pack dirt road to a stable, paved #greenway that will connect key destinations.
A few more photos from our final day touring Alberta to study soil health. We spent the morning at the Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, learning about smart farming and precision agriculture. Then we visited rancher Doug Wray, near Irricana, who is at the “bleeding edge” of regenerative ag innovation in Alberta. #SenateofCanada#AGFO#Calgary#Alberta#soil#soilhealth#regenerativeagriculture#OldsCollege
The IMO#3 all mixed with soil and compost and laid over a bed of the allotment. After being covered in a layer of dried hay it was also covered by cloches to protect it a little more from the rain and attention from curious animals.
Hopefully 🤞 by next weekend it will covered in white fuzz & I’ll have made my first IMO#4. It will also have inoculated the bed it’s on prior to that being planted up or sown.
IMO#4 is a living soil amendment containing a broad spectrum of minerals and diverse local biology. I’ll store this in containers and it has a variety of uses.
I’ll add it in small quantities before I add any compost or mulch to the soil. It can be added to beds prior to seeding or planting or added to inoculate a compost pile. It can also be applied as foliar feed or soil drench.
The french beans and runners beans are planted. I have spares if they become casualties to the weather or wildlife. The beans nearest the no dig potatoes are on a bed inoculated with IMO#4. The beans on the other side aren’t. I’ll be growing 8 different varieties & I’ll be looking to see if there’s a noticeable difference in the plants.
From just transplanting the soil on the IMO#4 bed feels different, nicer, more friable. Both beds have been covered in leaf mulch to protect & feed the soil & soil life and conserve moisture.
The broad beans & field beans are doing well despite the wind meaning some plants have been staked.The bed on the right will be intersown to have another crop coming through when the beans are ready for harvest. Something that will enjoy the N from the nodules on the bean roots.
We had the novelty of a northerly yesterday coming downhill instead of the southerly uphill. Unusual for this time of year.
The first sign of spring in an unintentional garden the past three years- daikon radish sprouts. We scattered seeds as a soil booster and I discovered that I don't much care for the radish part, but the greens and seed pods are really tasty and make a great salad. #Spring#Soil#Gardening
Some things just don't biodegrade well here, and part of it is that we're still perfecting our composting workflow and making sure our heaps don't overdry and die in our arid environment. We're getting better all the time, and it's a learning process. But in the meantime, I've been doing a lot of research on biochar. Most of the USDA fact sheets only talk about using biochar from wood or agricultural "wastes" like cornstalks, straw, etc. However, I know for a fact that in much of South America it's common to burn animal bones, manure, and more.
So, talk to me about biochar! Do you use it? What do you burn? What have your results been? Do you combine it with other soil remediation tactics (compost, compost teas, etc.)?
#YellowRattle is used proactively to create & restore wildflower meadows, where it aids #biodiversity by suppressing dominant grasses & recycling of #soil nutrients. This improves chances of other species of wildflowers becoming established.