Earth Pathways Showcase

Soil is amazing! It’s literally teeming with life and is a living biome in its own right; a living organ of the earth.

One teaspoon of healthy soil contains billions of micro-organisms all living, reproducing and dying, eating and excreting. This complex soil food web begins with organic matter (ie plants), which is food for algae, bacteria and fungi, who in turn are food for protozoa and nematodes and finally the earthworms, the engineers of the soil.

Just as our own physical and mental health relies on a diverse gut biome, so too the health of all plants (and ultimately us), relies on a healthy and diverse soil biome. These soil micro-organisms have a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, pre-digesting nutrients so that plants can more easily assimilate them. They also protect plants against pathogens and other environmental threats, offering ‘invasion’ resistance and resilience. The soil is essentially the plant’s stomach.

So, what can you do to nurture and protect this multitude of life in your garden soil? Be an organic or biodynamic gardener and use only natural methods for growing your plants. Make and apply good quality compost, never use mineral feeds and fertilisers, make compost teas, grow green manures, avoid leaving bare soil and try to grow lots of different sorts of plants with different root depths. Never forget that the soil is alive!

The Living Soil © Claire Hattersley

If you’re an organic gardener, you will of course have your feet and awareness firmly on the ground, ensuring the health of your lovely, living soil. If you’re a Biodynamic gardener however, your feet will still be on the ground, but your thinking will also be taken far out to the starry heavens.

Take planting for example: you could of course just plant (or sow) whenever is convenient for you. Or you could really connect with the cosmos and plant in the afternoon when the earth is breathing in – when she’s in a receptive mode. Or you could plant in the fortnight when the moon is descending, when plants take root more readily. Or you could also plant with beneficial support from the ring of fixed stars (the zodiac); choosing an earth ‘day’ (root influence) to plant your spuds, or a fire ‘day’ (fruit) to sow your tomatoes (just before the full moon of course to ensure a stronger germination).

We all accept the dramatic influence that the sun has on life here on earth, and few would question the moon’s influence on the liquid body of the earth (in us, in plants, in rivers and seas). Why then is it so crazy to suggest that the other planets in our neighbourhood (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) aren’t also profoundly affecting life growth on Earth?

Biodynamics offers a practical pathway of connection with these life-filled universal rhythms. For more info: www.biodynamic.org.uk

Biodynamic Gardening: Look to the Stars © Claire Hattersley 2013