Sustainable Tarpon Springs - Dirt!

In 2009, a documentary by the title of this week’s blog was released.  Based on William Bryant Logan’s amazing book The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, Dirt!, both the book and the film were ‘groundbreaking’ (pun intended).  For many people who hadn’t given soil as much as a second thought, it broke down all the reasons our soil is broken, and better yet, how to fix it.

Dirt is clearly the skin of the Earth, only about 5 cm deep, yet all life is sustained by it.  If the dirt is unhealthy, depleted, or salty - nothing can grow.  And yet, over years of industrialized food production, that is exactly what has become of soil.  Monoculture (same crops over and over again), nitrogen fertilizers, over tilling without feeding any humus to the dirt is literally killing it.

There are certainly a combination of complex factors, including how global climate changes are affecting the quality of air and currents.  Very drought depleted soil in Africa is blown to far away coral reefs in the Caribbean, and secondary effects are set in motion.  (Another documentary - African Dust, Coral Reefs and Human Health explains these connections:  http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/african_dust/documentary.html

For me, too much of this information can be overwhelming - and believe me, I’m not sharing this to put anyone into fear mode.  I am sharing because I believe, with all my heart, in our desire and capacity to change our ways and survive as a species.  

You might feel powerless in relation to the enormity of the problems.  I, too, have felt there is absolutely no way to get through to the law makers who can take action to shift us into a different direction.  But there is another solution!  Don’t wait for someone else.  Be your own agent of change!  Be a ‘soil saver’ right here, right now!

What are you doing with your food waste?  If it’s going down the garbage disposal, you are missing an opportunity.  Surely, you’ve heard of composting, and even in a small yard or garden it is possible to have a couple of trash cans for that purpose.  Drill some drainage holes, get a little chicken, goat or bunny poo, and you are on your way to enriching your soil.

Yard waste leaves?  Grass clippings?  Save them, putting them into your compost bin.  As they break down, especially when you’ve successfully attracted worms to live there, their casings add rich nutrients for dying soil.  So, starting a little soil enrichment science project in your own yard is an immediate, actionable solution.

Thinking of soil as ‘skin’ - be tender with it.  Only till, if you must.  There’s a strong movement within climate change circles to make ‘no till’ farming the norm.  There are two reasons - all plants draw carbon out of the atmosphere which is sequestered underground in the roots of plants.  When we till, that carbon is released back into the atmosphere.  

Second - to build up the soil, we should literally build it through layering like a lasagne.  

If you want to get rid of grass, turn off the light!  Start with layers of cardboard, and within days you’ll see the grass is dying under the cardboard.  Add newspapers, seagrass, straw, wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, manure, any organic combination of roughage that will break down into humus.  Some permaculturists will even grow potatoes in a medium like this to help to break it down more quickly.  Add Azomite for trace minerals and your soil is having a ‘spa day!’

Most importantly, imitate nature!  ‘Mother Knows Best’ for what makes good soil for plants to thrive.  For the sake of every biological system, make a commitment to be ‘chemical free’ in enriching the soil.  Shortcuts may be a temptation, but actually in the same amount of time, doing things Nature’s Way is most effective, productive, and sustainable!