Organic soil plays a vital role in our ecosystem. It contains living microbes and boasts many functions, including water holding, temperature regulation, plus carbon and nutrient cycling. We could not survive without these soil functions. Soil is as important as the air we breathe and the water we drink. What is soil?

How is organic soil made?

Soil is the collective of interacting living organisms within the earth’s surface layer which supports life above ground – plants, insects, animals and humans. It’s made up of three components – minerals that come from rocks (below or close by), organic matter (the remains of plants & animals) and the living organisms that find their home in the soil.
Broken rocks, decaying organic matter, air and water all combined form soil – and become food for plants, bacteria, fungi and small animals. All this makes soil a very important part of our ecosystem.

How soil affects us, as humans.

Don’t simply think soil makes our gardens look great. Without it, we wouldn’t exist. Soil supports plants’ roots and delivers them the necessary nutrients to survive. As a result, this process cleans the rainwater and levels out the discharge of excess rainwater, helping to stop flooding.
You’d be surprised just how much organic carbon, that soil retains too. It buffers pollutants, which protects groundwater quality. Think about how much we consume from the ground. Soil supports the growth of agricultural crops. Living organisms control all water infiltration, mineral and nutrient density through soil. Evolution has prepared these organisms to work with plants to apply the laws geology and chemistry for their own survival. A lot of us don’t know that the total underground biomass is greater than above ground, plant and animal biomass. So, let’s do what we can to care for it.
Soil is what facilitates all land-based life. Sustainable agriculture is about managing the plant, animal and microbial mix to meet human needs.

For more information on sustainable farming through nutritious fertilisers, talk to Kemgro. We create sustainable crop solutions to grow healthy soil for the future.

Working together to let life, as we know it, live on.