Your soil is an important ally in tackling climate change, as well as achieving productivity and profitability. When you pay attention to the health of your soil, you will realize a rich harvest of benefits: climate stability, improved water quality, drought resistance, cost savings, healthier food, and a generally more profitable enterprise. It all comes down to six basic practices: the
6 Cs of Soil Health.
Practice 1 – Control compaction
Compaction is better prevented than mitigated. Avoid driving equipment in wet conditions and consider reducing tire pressures. Look at implementing a controlled traffic system. And most of all, work to build good soil structure.
Practice 2 – Cultivate carefully
Soils are living ecosystems, teeming with tiny, mostly invisible, organisms that support plant growth and health. These organisms are your underground partners in the work of building healthy soils. Tillage and other forms of major soil disturbance destroy their underground communities and networks. This changes the focus of these creatures. Instead of helping crops grow large and healthy, they spend their energy rebuilding their communities. Be careful — minimize soil
disturbance.
Practice 3 – Continuous living plants
Plants feed soils, just as soils feed plants. Living roots secrete carbon-rich materials (e.g., sugars) into the soil, attracting and feeding multitudes of beneficial soil creatures. The larger and more diverse the population of these organisms, the healthier the soil and the healthier the plants. A soil that contains no live roots is a hungry soil – keep the underground workforce well fed!
Practice 4 – Cover the soil constantly
Our changing climate can be harsh and unpredictable. You never want bare soil, exposed to the elements. Too much or too little water, extreme heat or cold, and high winds can cause a lot of harm. Blanket the soil with crop residues, mulches, and/or living plants. This will help keep the soil cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and at a good moisture level all of the time.
Practice 5 – Crop, plant and animal diversity
All soils are complex, teeming with different forms of life, all of which work together to keep the soil healthy. Practice diversity (e.g., planting a wide variety of species, rotating crops) and you will ensure that your soil is resilient and thriving with many forms of beneficial life.
Practice 6 – Compost and other soil improvers
Adding compost to soil is one of the easiest ways to improve soil health. Compost feeds the soil organisms and helps them to build better soil structure, deliver important soil nutrients to plant roots, help fight off diseases, and create a generally healthy balanced ecosystem. For you, this means more readily available nutrients and water for your plants, with fewer pests and
less disease.
– From our friends at the Compost Council of Canada
