Let’s Shine Some Much Needed Light On Magnificent Soil!

It’s priceless, irreplaceable, key to sustaining all life on earth...and it Needs Our Help!

G’Day Folks,

Hope you've been keeping dry! and are doing amazing!

We are very relieved to report...

That even after 340+ml over two days all veg is thriving and no damage to the market garden!

Lovin’ our row covers!

Our experience with relentless rain and floods hasn't been easy.

Loosing veg to saturation was hard, but having soil wash away...

This was devastating!

Why? (perfect segway…)

Soil is more important than we give it credit for!

We won’t get too negative here...

There is a lot going on in the world right now and in the hope of not adding to negative news stories and docos...

We'll go with the good news first...

Then provide some facts to help us understand the importance of nurturing our soil.

Because this magnificent substance can be overlooked and under-appreciated...

Even though it provides for all life on earth and without it, planet earth would be another lifeless rock floating through space.

The good news is, since you have been supporting us through buying our veggies, our soil has improved dramatically!

Thanks to you our soil has now achieved...

• An increase of 1.5% in soil organic matter per year

• Each 1% increase in organic matter helps the soil hold an extra 90,000 litres of water per acre (nice to have for the next drought isn’t it!)
  

• We have added over 5 tonne of carbon per acre to our soil (we desperately need more carbon stored in our soil to limit climate change)
  

• We now find worms almost every time we put our hand in the soil
  

• We are creating almost all of our nutrients to feed our vegetables on farm with home made compost, the only exception being that of Nitrogen (we are still trying to find a way this can be achieved)

So why is this all important?

All that have we achieved together? (we can’t do this without you guys buying our veg, so you need to take credit for this as much as we do)

Soil is failing across the world.

Every five seconds a soccer pitch of soil is eroded, and it’s estimated that by 2050 around 90 percent of the Earth’s soils could be degraded.

What does this mean for people and planet?

• Only about 7.5 percent of the earth’s surface provides the soil we rely on for growing food.
  

• Topsoil is used to grow 95 percent of our food, and it is disappearing ten times faster than it is being replaced: America’s corn belt has already lost much of its topsoil, threatening livelihoods and communities as well as food supply.

• It takes thousands of years to create an inch of fertile topsoil, but it can be destroyed in minutes.

• Worms are not alone in the ground, just a gram of dirt can contain as many as 50,000 species, all interacting with each other to keep their soil habitat healthy and productive.
  

• The biggest threat to soil is intensive farming. The need to feed a growing population and drive greater efficiency has sacrificed natural balance for increased yields.
  

• Monoculture farming, where one crop is grown repeatedly on the same ground, drains the soil of specific nutrients and allows pests, pathogens, and diseases to thrive. The pesticides and fertilizers used to counter these problems come with significant drawbacks. 

• Soil filters the water we drink, grows the food we eat, and captures the carbon dioxide that causes climate change.

So, how can we Save Our Soils?

Many of the ways to reduce and even reverse the damage are reliant on changes to current agricultural practices. (this information was sourced from National Geographic)

By not tilling the land

• At Sohip Farm we do ZERO tillage once a garden beds is established, this means once the bed is made it is permanent and will NEVER be tilled again

   

Reducing our reliance on pesticides and fertilizers

• We use ZERO chemical pesticides or chemical fertilisers, we use nets, biological controls, our own compost and liquid organic Nitrogen from non-animal protein sources

Replacing our reliance on monoculture with a return to crop rotations gives soil time to replenish the nutrients needed by plants and increase animal and insect diversity

• We rotate our vegetables with each change in the season and we grow up to 30 varieties of herbs and vegetables in each field along with hedge rows, natural bushland and flower beds to maintain healthy populations and diversity of animals and insects
  

Soil needs all the help it can get.

It is a priceless, irreplaceable resource and key to sustaining all life on earth.

And now it's struggling for survival but there is still time to rebuild our soils as healthy, productive, sustainable ecosystems.

As the world learns to work together...

To preserve our oceans, our forests, and our biodiversity, we now need to look to the ground.

The humble earthworm can only do so much: it’s time for individuals, communities, companies, and countries to help save our soils.

Know this, every time you purchase a box of vegetables from a farmer who cares about the environment, you’re playing an important role in restoring the soil we have degraded for far too long!

Big Love,