Earth, the soil on which we stand

Soil is by far the most biologically diverse part of our earth. A teaspoon of healthy soil can contain more organisms than there are people on the planet. It’s the basis of all life on we which we depend, yet much is degraded and even facing extinction. Soil degradation was calculated in 2010 to cost £1.2 billion every year. Almost 4 million hectares of soil are at risk of compaction in England and Wales, affecting soil fertility and our water resources, and increasing the risk of flooding.

Much of the land at New House Farm, where the Fold sits, was first registered as organic in 1979 but was withdrawn in the late eighties due to the financial pressures of running the nursery. In 2007 it was re-registered and has now been organic since then. However, whilst organic matter levels and fertility are reasonable, soil biology and particular fungal activity is low leading to cobbly soils that can be difficult to manage and perennial weed challenges.

In the light of the various crisis facing humanity and in particular the impending soil extinction, we are determined to make a difference and are working with ecological agronomist Tim Ashley to address the issues. We are also working with the Fold Community Farm making larger volumes of compost to enable the practice of minimum tillage without importation of large quantities of municipal compost. We are currently making ‘mother composts’ to Tim’s recipes from which we make compost extracts and teas to apply to seeds and crops and also making bulk compost with various ingredients to apply to the land. We will be monitoring their success.