“Under one square metre of undisturbed ground in the Earth’s mid-latitudes there might live several hundred thousand small animals. Roughly 90% of the species to which they belong have yet to be named. One gram of this soil – less than a teaspoonful – contains around a kilometre of fungal filaments.”

Our soils are hurting, and most of the damage derives from common farming practices. A recent book (Monbiot 2022) reports on a farm where an area of degraded soil is now producing a viable income without any use of fertiliser, pesticides, herbicides, or anything other than natural systems.

“Plants release into the soil between 11% and 40% of all the sugars they make through photosynthesis. They don’t leak them accidentally. They deliberately pump them into the ground. Stranger still, before releasing them, they turn some of these sugars into compounds of tremendous complexity.

Making such chemicals requires energy and resources, so this looks like pouring money down the drain. Why do they do it? The answer unlocks the gate to a secret garden.”

Need we say more? Look after that stuff under your feet, it is the powerhouse that enables our existence.

– Monbiot, G., 2022: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet, Penguin Books. A summary can be found here.