Understanding the Needs of the World Beneath Our Feet

A degraded soil has poor structure and requires large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides to be productive. An organic lawn will do a lot better in a soil that is aggregated, moist, and full of life.

Bacteria produces glues that help form aggregates. Fungi provide spaces for air, water, and roots. A quality soil is 1/4 air, 1/4 water, and 1/2 mineral and organic matter. Roots grow not in the soil, but in the spaces between soil particles.

Every chemical-based pesticide, fungicide, herbicide, and fertilizer tested harms or kills some of the beneficial life that exists in the soil. You don’t want to scare off the earthworks and other creatures that aerate and fertilize the soil.

Good soil structure allows the roots to grow deep and keeps the plant healthy. Half the energy that goes to the roots is released in the form of exudates to attract the soil biology.