How do we grow it?
Nature has evolved an extremely sophisticated and resilient system of life here on planet earth. Globally our indigenous forbears had developed similarly sophisticated strategies of working with nature to maximize vitality and food production in whatever ecosystem they existed.
{{Needs specifics: Some literature, (“Tending the Wild” John Kempf’s book on Australia, 1491, Yale guy, original historical literature from Americas, cite these) are beginning to show this in a quite compelling fashion.}}
Through integrating the insights from Organic, Permaculture, Biodynamics, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Conservation Ag, Conventional Ag etc, and looking at them through the lense of the indigenous perspective, we can reclaim degraded land and rapidly rebuild vitality.
Some basic principles apply
Plants have evolved to feed off of the byproducts of microbial digestion. Just like us, healthy plants have well functioning microbiomes, and only when that microbiome is functioning well, should we expect the plant to be healthy and producing food that is nutrient dense.
Like the ocean where the tiniest phyto plankton form the foundation of the all life, so it is in the soil. Only when life in the soil is flourishing does all life on land flourish.
So, how do we help the soil flourish?
First, the microbes themselves must be present. If toxins like glyphosate, or atrazine or DDT have been applied whole species of microbes may no longer be present. Strategies for remediation in this case include inoculation. From applying spores of various microbes to seeds to using compost tea or Korean Natural Farming or Indigenous microorganisms to worm castings, numerous techniques exist to address these limitations.
Second, microbes need air to breathe. If the soil is too tight and there is not enough pore space for oxygen to flow, then microbes further down the soil profile will die from asphyxiation and be unable to work to digest the soil and feed the plant. Flocculation through mineral balancing, using a youman’s plow or other subsoiling implement to brak open plow pans without destroying soil structure, or keeping the soil covered through cover crops, or mulches are generally good techniques for maintaining aeration in the soil.
Third, microbes need water to drink. If the soil is too dry then microbes will die of thirst and be unable to help feed the plant. Working with the landscape to capture water when it rains so that it will recharge the water table is the most systemic manner in which to ensure sufficient water for life to be maintained. The tidal force will bring water up and down through the soil profile twice a day if the water table is healthy and subsoil compaction does not exist. Otherwise irrigation infrastructure is necessary to maintain soil hydration. As a week without water for a chicken or cat will cause it to die of thirst, dry soil for a week at any point in the year will cause the microbes to die off, and dramatically decrease the vitality of the environment for months.
Fourth, microbes need food to eat. The sugar that is created through photosynthesis is the primary foodstuff that soil microbes have evolved to eat, and whether it is in a simple form as comes down through the roots from green leaves or more stable forms like mulch or other soil cover, there must be sufficient food for microbes to eat or they will starve to death. Even in the winter when we don’t think we are growing crops necessarily the microbes are still in the soil and they still need to eat. The bare soil of a tilled field is effectively an environment devoid of sustenance for soil life and we should not be surprised when biological vitality is low in such an area. Nature always works to keep the soil covered, and for many reasons, one of them being keeping food for microbes. If soil can not be seen in nature, there is rarely a reason that it should be in our farms or gardens.
Fifth, microbes need minerals with which to build their bodies. As it takes 25 different elements for our bodies to build one strand of DNA, similarly microbes need a broad spectrum of elements to build their bodies from. Cobalt, the element at the core the vitamin B12 molecule is needed by 80% of the species of soil life. If there is insufficient cobalt in your soil then, 80% of the species of soil life will be unable to thrive. Numerous modes can be used from mineral balancing to amending with broad spectrum natural materials like rock dust and sea minerals to a well established perennial polyculture. Different species of plants like different species of animals have different gut floras. As each microbial species has the capacity to digest different elements from the soil, a broad spectrum of different plant families growing in proximity to each other ensures the greatest possible availability of naturally occurring elements from the soil.