Soil, Land and the Worm

‘Dancing Earthworms’ - A very funny concept. Are they wearing tutus? Do they have little hats or canes, and the big one: Is there music playing?

Everything we eat comes from the soil or seas. Everything. Caveat: If it doesn’t, the chances are that it shouldn’t be eaten.

There is currently very little awareness of the importance of good quality soil, and at The Watch we’re setting out to change that. Over the years since the agricultural and industrial revolution, human beings have been on a mission to take from the land, without giving enough. But the tide is turning. We are starting to see more and more focus on the importance of restoring the systems which sustain us.

Soil is a living being, and within it there a mega numbers of microbes. These microbes need air, food and water, and they need a good balance surrounding them. The microbiome in the soil works on the same principles as the microbiome in our gut. Imbalance = bad guys take over, and poor conditions = inability to thrive.

It stands to reason that you can’t expect a plant to grow in dead soil, and soil is so much more that just the thing that props up the plants. It holds water, carbon, feeds the plant and supports biodiversity.

Farming practices have without question diminished the quality of soils. At The Watch, we love British Agriculture, and want to see it thrive. A big driver behind our work is to return farming to the status we believe it should have. Alongside this, we are passionate about the environment and believe that it is possible for practices which put the improvement of soil to reverse damage which has been caused over decades.

So back to the worm. In Britain, we are short on biodiversity, both above and below the soil. There are plenty of schemes and amazing work being done to encourage habitat conservation for the more obvious, birds, bats and newts, but not quite as much emphasis on the things we don’t tend to look at. Land workers, farmers and anyone who loves to plant has the opportunity to enrich the soil around them, and in later posts we will explore some of the ways to do this. By enriching the organic matter content, the food which grows in the soil will be higher in nutrient, and the carbon capture levels will be higher. Its a win win for us all, as long as we look after the worms.