Lawnflower Soils, Soil Ecology, Soil Fertility, and Soil Life
Healthy soil ecosystems are the foundation of life in lawns, gardens, orchards, farms, ranches, and wildlands. Plant growers know that plants are healthiest when grown in nutritious, wholesome soil. Humans and other animals are healthiest when fed nutritious, wholesome foods grown from healthy soil ecosystems.
A healthy soil ecosystem is inhabited by myriads of tiny organisms that work to capture and recycle nutrients. These organisms consume and digest plant residues, releasing macronutrients, micronutrients, and complex nutrient compounds. These released nutrients dissolve into soil water solution and adsorb onto soil particles, where they are available for uptake by plants’ roots. There is a rich abundance of nutrients cycling through a healthy soil ecosystem.
When soil organisms are deprived of consumable plant residues, the soil’s natural nutrient cycling process is disrupted. Soil organisms starve out for lack of nutrients. Eventually, insufficient nutrients dissolve into soil water solution and adsorb onto soil particles. Plant nutrients must then be added artificially by humans, often at great expense of labor and money. When excess fertilizer nutrients are added to the soil in large incremental events, this excess washes down into the subsoil water table. Once there, these fertilizers flow into, and pollute, wells, springs, ponds, lakes and waterways.
Continued use of pesticides to artificially control pests in pesticide damaged cropland ecosystems also disrupts the natural nutrient cycling process of soil ecosystems. Soil organisms get poisoned out by the pesticides. Soil nutrient availability is then reduced. Pesticides eventually wash down into the subsoil water table where they flow into, and pollute, wells, springs, ponds, lakes and waterways.
When it comes to living in our natural world, it is best to understand and facilitate natural ecosystem processes. It is never good to disrupt or eliminate natural ecosystem processes because there are no cheap, healthful, sustainable replacements for them. It is always best to work along with natural ecosystem processes. It is always best to follow the ancient, natural way of doing things, exactly as was done by the lawnflower families in the Lawnflowers Story.
Below are listed a few of the many available books about soil ecosystems and the ecology of the organisms that recycle soil nutrients. If you see a title that interests you, click on it to be redirected to the book’s description.
As the Worm Turns: New & Easy Methods for Raising Earthworms
Backyard Composting: Your Complete Guide to Recycling Yard Clippings
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