#Soil section from Naefurholt, South #Iceland, at the National Museum in Reykjavík, showing tephra layers from historic eruptions of Hekla back to settlement time 870 C.E.
The EU this week introduced a soil law aimed to improve soil quality and sequester more carbon. 🌲 Definitely doesn't go far enough, but this is an exciting first step.
The legislation focusses on setting out a ‘definition of soil health’ as well as a ‘framework for soil health monitoring’.
The initial ambition was to give soil a protected status similar to that of air or water, but that didn't happen.
For those who are new here (or for those who've decided to activate the accounts they made months ago, just in case) let me offer, if I may, a re-#introduction. I'm Senator Paula Simons. I represent Alberta in the Senate of Canada, where I have served since 2018 as an independent senator and a member of the ISG, or Independent Senators Group. My home is in #Edmonton, on Treaty Six Territory. So I care about #Canadian politics, #Alberta politics, #cdnpoli#SenateofCanada, #yeg, #abpoli and such.
Large #food companies are pushing #RegenerativeAgriculture programs.
"But the uptake among #farmers is still small given the sheer vastness of global farmland.
Government and private commitments toward regenerative practices and #soil health will exceed 40 million hectares by 2030, about 4% of the total crop and pasture acreage of the US, Canada, EU, Australia and New Zealand"
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.
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.
My newest eco friendly #gardening tips I've learned about & using lately, is I sprinkle my daily used #coffee grounds onto the #soil which is good for making it slightly acidic and good for beans which I'm growing. I also spray a #cinnamon infused water on leaves and soil to keep it fungus-free and the squirrels away. So far it's all been working very well, and smells very nice! #balconygarden#green#sustainable#ecofriendly#tip
"The Midwestern United States has lost 57.6 billion tons of #topsoil due to farming practices over the past 160 years, and the rate of #erosion is 25 times higher than the rate at which topsoil forms.
#NoTillFarming can extend our current level of #soil fertility for the next several centuries. This has implications for everything from food security to #ClimateChange mitigation."
This BBC radio show is worth 30 minutes of your time if you are interested in or curious about regenerative #farming as a way to grow #food sustainably and save our #soil. Farmer and author of “The Shepherd’s Life” and “Pastoral Song”, James Rebanks takes us on a brief journey across the UK and USA to discuss with other farmers the success of their regenerative farming approaches.
Click here for the radio show, “Could I Regenerate My Farm to Save the Planet?”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0b6d29k
@openculture These drawings of plant root systems are extraordinarily detailed.
#AltText A fine detailed cross section drawing of plant above ground and it’s root system below ground with a scale showing the depth in cm of the roots.
The sheer volume of soil covered by the combination of plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi is staggering.
Hi Mastodon #garden lovers or #soil knowers or #fungus experts, I have no idea what I've come home to in part of my newly planted garden, #help? looks like some sort of #seed? I recently added a heavy dose of #compost to this garden and planted lupin seeds underneath this particular area, but this looks odd!
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.
@compost The worm castings have been harvested and the worms are now back in their spring home in the shed with some new feed and bedding. The worms were looking healthy with plenty of youngsters and cocoons.
In this week’s podcast from our archive, author Jay Griffiths offers a love letter and a prayer to soil, marveling at the creativity and capacity of soil-dwelling creatures who enable all other life.
Listen to “Dwelling on Earth,” by Jay Griffiths. https://emergencemagazine.org/podcast/#Podcast#Soil#Dirt
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.
This is what the finished IMO#4 looked like (left pic) when I peeled back the hay mulch layer. A nice fungal covering on the soil. It is now being stored in three old dustbins for regular use as and when around the plot.
I’ll transplant climbing beans up the bamboo poles into both the inoculated IMO#4 bed and into the bed next door for comparison. I’ll also sow other veg in both beds also for comparison.
Both beds were covered in a leaf litter mulch after I took the photos to protect, cover and feed the microbes and soil/compost in the meantime until the beds can be planted up.
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.
Peeling back the layer of hay there are small strands of white fuzz appearing on the surface of the bran inoculated with IMO#2. It’s not heated up as high or as fast as I was expecting but it was up to 25°C this morning after unexpected overnight rain and a low outside temperature of 5°C.
Global warming could surge the CO2 emissions from soil microbes (www.techexplorist.com)
Microbial CO2 emissions in the polar regions will increase twice as much as in the rest of the world.