For farmers and gardeners alike, healthy soil is a crucial component to growing successful crops and maintaining a thriving ecosystem. The health of any garden or farm is built upon the layers of soil on which it sits. Soil fertility is the key not only to long-term success in the garden, but to environmental stewardship as well.
In this article, we will explore the many eco-friendly regenerative methods that can be implemented to boost soil health and increase crop yields. Luckily, building soil health and tending to the environment go hand in hand.
You’ll learn:
Above all, you'll learn the ways that these practices lend themselves to land stewardship and environmental sustainability, making it possible to grow healthy crops while also ensuring the long-term health of the soil and the surrounding ecosystem.
“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” ― Wendell Berry
Regenerative gardening practices follows the guidelines of principles of regenerative agriculture in order to build soil health, sequester carbon, and grow food in a way that benefits the planet.
Soil health is of utmost importance: You may even start to think of yourself as a soil gardener rather than a vegetable gardener!
When we focus on soil health and fertility, we also inherently focus on the environment, the atmosphere, and the surrounding ecology - all while producing nutritious food.
With the effects of climate change rapidly increasing, it is more important than ever to implement any techniques that we can to not only prevent further harm from being done, but to regenerate the planet as well.
Surprisingly, soil can hold three times as much carbon as is in the atmosphere, and soil is responsible for, without much proactive implementation, sequester approximately 25% of global fossil fuel emissions annually (source). Building the health of the soil further supports its ability to absorb carbon while also providing for people and ecosystems.
Soil health is intricately linked to climate change and carbon sequestration. The health of soil is dependent on the presence of organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. When soil is healthy, it can store carbon in the form of organic matter, which is derived from the decomposition of plant and animal matter. This is an important process because carbon sequestration in soil helps mitigate the effects of climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil.
According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, soil microbes play a crucial role in carbon sequestration. In fact, microbes support carbon sequestration at least four times more than other components of the carbon cycle (source). Moreover, soil can hold three times as much carbon as is in the atmosphere, and soil is responsible for sequestering approximately 25% of global fossil fuel emissions annually (source).
Regenerative organic farming and gardening practices can be used to promote soil health and carbon sequestration.
Overall, promoting soil health through regenerative organic farming and gardening practices is an essential component of mitigating the effects of climate change and building a more sustainable future.
For example, while around 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to large farmland in the United States each year (source, around 90 million pounds of pesticides and herbicides are applied yearly to residential lawns and gardens (source).
While the amount applied residentially is just 9% of that applied in agriculture, it is still a significant amount: a survey done by the EPA found that 1/4 of national pesticide + herbicide spending was for homes and gardens (source).
Not only do techniques such as pesticide, herbicide, and synthetic fertilizer applications, tilling, monocultures, and the like disrupt the soil ecology that builds resilience and fertility, but these things also end up damaging the environment.
Synthetic chemicals release greenhouse gases in their manufacturing and transportation, and many are made with greenhouse gases in and of themselves. These chemicals end up in waterways, destroy beneficial insect populations, and impact human health as well. Tilling the soil causes more water to be needed to maintain plants, and causes soil erosion. Monocultures cause negative effects to soil health, increase chances of erosion, and the technique lends itself to more fertilizer and pesticide input, forming a viscous cycle of ecological damage (source).
As you can see, organic and regenerative practices support both the environment and the health of the soil.
Soil fertility is a key component of successful farming and gardening, and it can be improved through a variety of factors.
Healthy soil is characterized by a balance of nutrients, minerals, and organic matter, which an abundance of fungi and microorganisms that support plant growth.
Unhealthy soil on the other hand, may be lacking in essential nutrients, have difficulty growing robust plants, and be more prone to soil erosion and susceptible to drought (source).
To build healthy soil, it's important to use the regenerative organic farming and gardening practices that I’ll outline in this article in order to promote the growth of beneficial fungi and bacteria.
Soil fertility can be measured through a soil fertility test, which analyzes the nutrient content and pH levels of the soil. This also can be helpful with reducing unnecessary fertilizer application. You can also find the amount of organic matter in your soil, and your soil’s type and texture. Local companies or university agricultural extension centers offer soil testing services.
When conducting a soil fertility test, it's important to take multiple samples from different areas and mixing them together to get an average reading.
When interpreting the results of a soil fertility test, it's important to consider the specific needs of the plants that you are growing. Different plants have different nutrient requirements, and the test results can help you determine if your soil is deficient in any essential nutrients.
I cannot stress enough how much my understanding of soil health, plant health, and environmental health expanded from reading Jeff Lowenfel’s series. It is the best $100 you can spend as a gardener and will change the way you look at your soil and land. It’s also really helpful for understanding how carbon emission and sequestration happens within the layers of soil as an environmental steward.
Fungi, microbes, and beneficial bacteria in the soil are necessary for plant life to be sustained, and are responsible for delivering nutrients to plants and developing networks within the soil.
Plants release exudates which they form during photosynthesis, and these exudates are a source of food for the fungi and bacteria. This is why often you will often see regenerative farmers and gardeners on a mission to “maximize photosynthesis.” The bacteria and fungi deliver all sorts of nutrients and benefits to the plant. For example, the beneficial bacteria is what brings nitrogen to plants, and the bacteria actual enter into the plant’s cell walls. Beneficial bacteria can also help to make plants more resilient to disease, temperature fluctuations, and drought (Teaming with Bacteria).
So when we say, for example, that beans are “nitrogen fixers” because they are able to make their own nitrogen from the atmosphere, it’s really that the bacteria are enabling this process to happen through their relationship.
Mycorrhizal fungi are present on the roots of plants and essentially extend the root reach of the plant, allowing the plant to take in nutrients and water from a greater area. They can also protect the plant from disease and pests (source).
Fungi form relationships with most plants (except brassicas and beet family veggies), but have a higher collaboration ration with perennial plants. Bacteria are more present in annual vegetable beds. We can encourage fungi with wood chip mulch around perennial plants and trees, and we can encourage bacteria with plant debris from chop and drop and cover cropping methods, and manure-rich compost (Teaming with Microbes).
When we build soil health by ensuring that organic matter is present and consistently added, we are helping to attract a community of fungi, bacteria, and microbes that then in turn can form a mutual relationship with our plants.
These microbes are essential to soil health, and they also sequester carbon at the same time.
Soil is such a major carbon storage center, and mycorrhizal fungi, being so attracted to high-carbon materials, are the foundation of carbon being drawn down into the earth (source). In fact, a study from April 2023 discovered that microbes support carbon sequestration at least four times more than other components of the carbon cycle (source).
Tilling the soil destroys fungal networks, which not only releases carbon in the process but also prevents the slow-building mycorrhizae from sourcing the carbon they would have sequestered if they had stayed in place (source).
Often no-till farmers will plant a cover crop, and the plant residue from this crop once it is terminated becomes a mulch that blankets the soil. This helps this soil to resist erosion, be more resilient to temperature extremes, and decreases water evaporation.
No-till farmers find that their soil fertility, texture, and aeration increases year over year with this method, due to the nutrients that are able to be made available by soil microbes. Cover crops help fields to “maximize photosynthesis” during the off-season. During this otherwise fallow time, they produce exudates that feed fungi and bacteria in the soil, and attract the healthy soil food web chain, such as earthworms, which in turn elevate the structure and health of the soil (source).
In addition to promoting soil health, no-till farming and cover cropping supports carbon sequestration and reduces fossil fuel usage.
Monocultures have a decreased amount of microbial populations, which in turn depletes the soil and reduces overall health. In 2021, a study was conducted on soil life in monocultures vs. polycultures, and found that plant diversity doubled the number of fungi species in the soil (source).
Polycultures tend to have less pest issues, meaning less synthetic chemicals are applied which damage soil life. The bonus is that polycultures are often more productive and provide higher yields than monocultures (source).
Regardless of what type of gardening you practice, reducing pesticides is the key to enhancing soil health while protecting the health of humans and the environment.
Understanding natural pest control methods is crucial to promote soil fertility and microbial activity.
In addition to polyculture, companion planting certain crops that attract beneficial insects can be helpful. Certain crops can be grown alongside each other to help deter pests. For example, marigolds can be planted alongside vegetables to repel harmful insects, while attracting beneficial ones. Plants like basil, mint, and rosemary also have insect-repelling properties.
Beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and praying mantises can be introduced to the garden to control pests. Nematodes, which are microscopic worms, can also be used to control soil-dwelling pests like grubs and cutworms.
JADAM has several methods of natural pest controls, which use no harmful materials.
Other natural solutions to pests that don’t majorly devastate soil microbes include neem oil, beneficial nematodes, and non-surfactant soap.
You can also prevent certain pests from getting to your crops all together by covering them with floating row covers. Sunlight and water can still get through, but keep insects and other pests out. I have found this to be especially helpful for preventing cabbage moth damage to brassicas.
By employing these methods, gardeners can effectively control pests without harming soil health or the environment.
Organic fertilizer feeds microbes while synthetic fertilizer decreases the need for plants to form beneficial relationships with microbes - they don’t need their nutrients anymore (teaming with microbes).
In fact, organic fertilizer actually requires soil bacteria and fungi to make the nutrients bioavailable to the plants (source). So organic fertilzer boosts soil health and microbial communities while synthetic fertilizer disrupts the soil food web.
Adding compost and organic matter to your soil feeds microbes and fungi, which in turn make nutrients available to your plants.
This means that adding compost to your soil increases soil health by attracting the soil food web into your garden.
Compost helps to create a healthy ratio of soil material, which can help balance out clay or sandy-leaning soils into a more robust loam. The nutrients in the compost reduce the need for fertilizer and pesticide application, and increase carbon organic matter in the soil (source).
You can actually cultivate bacteria that you can then add to your soil for enhanced fertility and texture.
JADAM and KNF have a few recipes for beneficial bacteria and fungi, which include JADAM Microbial Solution, Indigenous Microorganisms, and Lactic Acid Bacteria.
Here are some awesome videos by JohnKNF on youtube on different JADAM innoculants.
Adding wood chips, leaf mold, and cover crop residue are also great soil amendments that feed the soil web.
You can also extract nutrients from common plants such as seaweed comfrey and nettles, and apply the liquid extract to the soil and your plants (source, source).
Mulching with cover crops, compost, or other organic material not only feeds the soil food web, but it also protects it. A mulched garden bed is like a safe haven for soil life, creating added soil health in return.
Mulching has the benefit of keeping water in the soil, and keeping the soil temperature cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. Mulching reduces weed pressure while bringing in more nutrients to the soil, and builds resilience into the garden (source). All of these components combine to improve soil structure, fertility, and health (source).
It’s been found that crop rotation enhance soil life diversity and population.
A study from 2021 concluded that crop rotation not only helped the soil food web, but also increased carbon, made more essential nutrients available for plants, and increased soil resilience to pest and weather threats (source).
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University studied crop rotation from 2006 - 2014 and found that longer rotations of 3+ years gave the soil a boost in organic matter, microbes, and nutrient availability.
They also found that compared to a 2 year rotation system, a 4 year rotation had 40% less soil erosion, higher crop yields, and far less disease (source).
Healthy soil is essential for successful farming and gardening.
With eco-friendly regenerative methods of gardening, soil microbes can thrive.
These fungi and beneficial bacteria are key to soil and environmental health, and can be supported through organic regenerative gardening methods such as no-till, mulching, DIY amendments, maximizing photosynthesis, and crop rotations.
When gardeners and farms implement these practices, we promote soil health, reduce environmental damage, and ensure the long-term health of the soil and surrounding ecosystem.
