Dead or Living Mulch, Digging or Forking the Soil

Are you concerned about your soil-biome?

Are you aware of what the soil-biome consists of?

What do I do to enhance this unique lifeform?

Do you ask yourself:  Do I dig the soil, fork it over or mulch it as we find nature doing it in the forest?

Do I use a dead or live mulch?

There are lots of quick fixes and fads out there in the last few decades.

But, what do I base my decision on to answer above questions?

Maybe let’s back track a step and ask first:

Do I know my soil sufficient in terms of texture, structure, humus content and how the micro and macro biome behaves in the soil?

And what does the soil-biome consists of and does it behave?

It refers to all micro-organisms, mostly present in the topsoil consisting of a long list of names for bacteria, fungi, their mycelium and the mycorrhiza, actonomycetes, protozoa, virus, etc. creating the largest community of biodiversity known on this planet.

All plants receive the information of the cosmic light and frequencies via their silica rich antennas in the grain ears and the inner fiber system (fiber-optic, carbon-silicon communication system made up of cellulose and lignin) and communicate them to the soil organisms like the mycelium and mycorrhiza.

These are tightly interwoven with the root system of the plants.

All soil organisms, macro and micro-organisms are there to make sure that these cosmic forces and light information, visible and invisible and also the changing warmth in the environment are perceived.

The mycelium being interlaced and growing into the intercellular tissue in the root hair of plants and creating a tight and more effective neurological communication system than our brain or the fastest computers in turn will release the adequate moisture and nutrients from the living soil and prepare the nutrients for our cultivars to take them up in a predigested, bio-available form adequate to the persisting environmental factors at the time and specifically prepared differently for each plant specie.

The soil and its life forms are thus informed though its vegetation by the cosmic forces, frequencies and light, which are differentiated by the movement of the planets, the sun and moon.

This creates ever changing weather expressions producing micro-climates and local characteristic expressions of shapes, patterns and texture in plants.

Concerning the fauna that roam over and creep through and under the Earth, we can ask ourselves:

How do we insure that this information and energy flow is always optimal and in a healthy relationship between earth and cosmos?

If we look in the forest, we see that this function is performed by the trees, shrubs and mushrooms, nourished by one fall of leaves per year in fall or autumn, we forms a dead mulch on top of the soil.

I conclude from this: Yes, if I want to mulch my soil lightly like the sprinkling of the leaves once a year, it makes total sense in a vegetable garden to mulch lightly with compost, leaf mould and other organic residue like straw, if I have plants growing in the beds.

Though, I would never just mulch an empty bed with 3-6 inches (7.5-15cm) of organic material as done in the no dig method, without cultivationg the soil below, as it would separate the soil from this information and energy flow, we described earlier.

In fact, I would rather dig the soil or fork it over maintaining the different soil stratas intact,

particularly in heavy soils.

This is best achieved through the French-Intensive Biodynamic Method* developed by Alan Chadwick in Santa Cruz, California in the 1960s. After applying a light application of well-rotted compost or leaf-mould before winter we spray the horn manure preparation and the cow pat pit preparation to sensitize the soil and to open the soil to the interchange for these forces between the Earth and the cosmos to flow freely!

Unless you have a light and well drained and aerated soil and would use only natural materials, which would be semi-permeable for the rain, air and light and warmth or frost in winter, I would abstain from mulching in the winter half year.

Detrimental effects of thick mulching or of using impermeable materials, could cause particularly in heavy soils anaerobic, putrifying conditions, which create poisons for your microbiome and for the future plant roots.

I would dig heavy, compacted soils and leave clods exposed and open to the frost and weathering, to kill detrimental soil organisms and create a crumb structure to facilitate the preparation of seed beds for spring sowings.

Also dead mulches would encourage in wet conditions the breeding of slugs, snails and other soil born pests like caterpillars, as this would create a stagnant and a dominance of  “earthly” forces. The Fire or Warmth element and the formative forces, which express themself also through frosty weather and freezing the water could not work deeply into the soil.

The only time it would make sense to me to mulch the garden beds in Britain would be in the summer months, when parts of your beds are barren and you might want to protect the soil from drying out, overheating or the excess of cosmic harmful radiation.

In conclusion, I would always suggest to sow your empty beds with green manures and cover crops which would allow some weed seeds also to germinate, creating a rich living mulch  for a healthy soil life.

Green manures or cover crops, ensure that the soil life is nourished with the dying older roots and informed by the cosmic forces.

By the way, did you know the benefits from a well balanced soil?

When mulching is employed discernfully, it could lead to a maximum variety of micro-organisms and would in turn create the best biome and nutrition supply for the plants and hence the most nutritious and health giving plants for us to eat.

Have you heard of the gut microbiome? Or do you take probiotics? And did you know that the common antibiotic, Streptomycin, was discovered in the soil?

Please contemplate how beneficial it could be for you to expose yourself on a regular basis to the soil biome:

• by not scrubbing your veggies down too hard before eating them raw

• by not using gloves and exposing your fingertips to the soil

• by breathing deeply, when you are in your garden.

I will coin a new term: “soil bathing”

You all have probably heard of forest bathing?

It has been established by microbiologists that if you expose yourself to a multitude of microbial life forms, the healthier your gut biome will be and therefore your mood and emotional response to life, your overall immune system response and your wellbeing will be optimal.

So, in closing I would say rather ask the question:

How can I help the soil to open up to the environment and yet be adequately protected?

We need to ask ourselves the same question when we are dealing as people with our social and natural environment.

Therefore, I dare say the garden could become our greatest teacher in creating healthy lifestyle choices.

Next time I’d like to write about one of the above questions:

How can I enhance the unique lifeforms of the soil-biome in my garden?

Happy gardening

Hans-Günther

FYI:

French-Intensive Biodynamic Method can be explored in the Wholistic Living University practical workshops

Watch “Web of Life” by Merlin Sheldrake:

And experience our “Grow Your Own Health” practical workshop on the 9th November in Sussex.

More information and booking possible here: https://whlu.org/practical-workshops/