Most bacteria in soil cannot be cultured in the lab, and that has long been a barrier for science. Yet the soil beneath our feet is the world’s largest reservoir of microbial diversity, a hidden ecosystem that could hold cures for drug-resistant infections, insights into climate, and new tools for sustainable farming. This makes sense considering the “healing” feeling when you are out in nature, in the forest, feet in the soil.

A new study in Nature Biotechnology may change the way we access that treasure trove.

Researchers at Rockefeller University have developed a way to extract very large DNA fragments directly from soil, sidestepping the need to grow bacteria in petri dishes. From a single forest soil sample, the team generated hundreds of complete bacterial genomes never seen before, and identified two new antibiotic leads. This could lead to a quick amplification of new leads to powerful and life-saving antibiotics.

“We finally have the technology to see the microbial world that have been previously inaccessible to humans,” says Sean F. Brady, head of Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Genetically Encoded Small Molecules. “And we’re not just seeing this information; we’re already turning it into potentially useful antibiotics. This is just the tip of the spear.”

The method, which pairs soil DNA extraction with long-read nanopore sequencing, allows scientists to recover continuous stretches of DNA tens of thousands of base pairs long. “It’s easier to assemble a whole genome out of bigger pieces of DNA, rather than the millions of tiny snippets that were available before,” Brady adds. “And that makes a dramatic difference in your confidence in your results.”

Related: Adding Mycorrhizal Fungi to Green Roofs

Using their approach, the researchers discovered two promising molecules. One, erutacidin, disrupts bacterial membranes through a novel mechanism and is effective against resistant pathogens. The other, trigintamicin, acts on a rare target called ClpX, a protein-unfolding motor. Brady describes the overall strategy as simple but transformative: “Isolate big DNA, sequence it, and computationally convert it into something useful.”

Soil in the News: Why It Matters Now

Soil health is making headlines worldwide. A Guardian investigation in late August showed how regenerative farmers are looking at soil microbes under microscopes to improve yields without chemicals. In Israel, regenerative agriculture pilots are testing methods to restore soil biodiversity under real farm conditions. Meanwhile, mega-fires across the Mediterranean this summer highlighted how degraded soils struggle to retain water and recover from climate shocks.

Soil microbes are not just about crops. They underpin global carbon cycles, water retention, and climate stability. As this study shows, they may also be humanity’s best source of new medicines. If foresters like in Canada keep pouring chemicals like glyphosate weed killers on forests, how can we expect the soil to thrive?

Related: A museum for Middle East soil

For regenerative agriculture, the lesson is clear: as Woody Harrelson says preserving soil biodiversity preserves opportunity. Degraded soils lose microbial richness, shrinking both ecosystem function and the chance to discover new bioactive molecules. Practices like cover cropping, composting, and reduced tillage foster microbial life, keeping the “dark matter” of the soil alive and accessible.

“All over the world there’s this hidden ecosystem of microbes that could have dramatic effects on our lives,” Brady notes. The Rockefeller team’s discovery makes that invisible world visible — but keeping it healthy is a job for all of us.

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Biomimicry looks to nature for helping us engineer human products such as vernacular design

For years, scientists believed the exceptional fertility of tropical Ferralsols—a crumbly, porous soil found in regions like the Brazilian Cerrado and parts of West Africa—was simply the result of mineral weathering. But new research has cracked open that theory, revealing a hidden network of co-engineers: termites and ants. These social insects have not just inhabited these soils—they’ve built them.

In a landmark perspective published in Pedosphere Dr. Ary Bruand and colleagues at France’s Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans trace how millions of generations of termites and ants have sculpted the structure of Ferralsols. By transporting minerals from deep underground and engineering an intricate system of tunnels, these insects have created the porous, breathable soils that support some of the world’s richest tropical biodiversity and agriculture.

“This is like discovering that the pyramids weren’t built by natural erosion, but by ancient engineers,” said Bruand. “These insects have been performing ecosystem services worth billions of dollars, completely unnoticed. Their soil structures are more sophisticated than anything we’ve designed in labs.”

The team used advanced microscopy and chemical tracing to map the fingerprints of insect activity across Ferralsol profiles from three continents. Their findings are striking: termites, possibly in search of scarce minerals like sodium, mine materials from depths of up to 10 meters. They transport these nutrients to the surface, where ants help redistribute and stabilize them—creating honeycomb-like soil microstructures that resist compaction, retain water, and allow roots to thrive.

Yet this partnership is under threat. In regions where native vegetation is converted to cropland, termite and ant populations decline rapidly. In Ivory Coast, the team observed a 60% drop in these soil-structuring insects just five years after agricultural expansion. Water retention and crop yields followed the same downward trajectory.

For scientists, the implications go beyond soil science. The biological design principles embedded in Ferralsols could inspire new directions in vernacular architecture, permaculture, and even regenerative land use. Termite mounds—known for their natural ventilation and climate regulation—have long fascinated architects. Now, this new research offers a soil-level perspective on bioengineering that’s been quietly evolving for tens of thousands of years.

Related: Dubai develops a museum for soil

“We must develop farming systems that work with these natural builders, not against them,” said Bruand. “The future of tropical agriculture may depend on whether we can protect these underground allies.”

Designers and architects interested in sustainable land-based development can take cues from this research:

• Leave vegetation corridors between cultivated fields to allow for recolonization of native insects.
• Explore soil biomimicry by replicating termite-built structures in agricultural substrates.
• Develop bio-inspired building materials that mimic the thermal and structural logic of insect habitats.

Policymakers, too, may begin using insect abundance as a new indicator of soil health. Researchers are already exploring rapid field tests to measure the “biological soil structure potential”—a kind of ecological fingerprint left by these ancient builders.

The message is clear: these insects have solved problems of drainage, drought, and compaction long before humans ever arrived. Protecting them isn’t just conservation—it’s smart design.

The post How Termites and Ants Built the Tropics’ Best Soil appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you think of the Middle East, sand, not soil comes to mind. But the complex ecosystem which includes Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Iran and the United Arab Emirates has a rich soil tradition, the Levant especially as it is once considered the bread basket of the planet, and it’s where emmer wheat was first cultivated.

Now the United Arab Emirates has declared they will build a soil museum of the Middle East. Like seed banks, dispersed in underground vaults and fridges throughout the world, a soil bank can help us know more about the complex and rich ecosystems of the east.

Designed to promote soil conservation and responsible resource management in arid environments, the guide will serve as a blueprint for institutions across the region. Backed by ADFD funding, the guide will be transformed into a practical training and capacity-building programme featuring technical workshops and scientific mentoring. ICBA will lead the technical delivery, drawing on its expertise in sustainable agriculture and its success in launching and operating the Emirates Soil Museum.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) will fund and develop the Middle East and North Africa’s first comprehensive guide for establishing and operating soil museums.

Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, said: “This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability and knowledge partnerships. We believe science-backed solutions like this museum guide can shape regional resilience and inform effective policies for generations to come.”

The agreement also outlines the organization of an international scientific symposium on 5 December 2025 to coincide with World Soil Day, with the participation of over 200 experts, researchers, and decision-makers from around the world to discuss soil, salinity, and climate change issues in arid regions.

Established in December 2016 with support from ADFD, Emirates Soil Museum is the first specialized soil museum in the region. Located at ICBA’s headquarters in Dubai, the museum aims to raise awareness about the role of soil in the environment, agriculture, and food security, while showcasing the diversity of soil types in the UAE.

Since its launch, the museum has welcomed more than 13,500 visitors from various sectors of society and has become a reference center for environmental awareness and non-traditional education. Time for a wider understanding of soil and how it sustains life.

::Emirates Soil Museum

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A new UN report shows that nearly 1.4 billion hectares of land (just over 10 percent of the total global land area) are already impacted by salinity, with an additional one billion hectares at risk due to the climate crisis and human mismanagement. Soils became saline from water overuse. Aquifers become brackish and precipitation that is lacking cannot replenish the natural balance back to the soil, making them unsuitable for farming. This Saudi Arabian company Iyris is working to solve agriculture on brackish (salty aquifers and land).

So who are the worst-affected?

Today, 10 countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, the United States, Iran, Sudan, and Uzbekistan account for 70 percent of the world’s salt-affected soils.

The Global Status of Salt-Affected Soils report was presented today during the International Soil and Water Forum 2024 in Bangkok. The event discussed an action plan for halting and reversing soil degradation and water scarcity.

Excessive salinity reduces the fertility of soils and severely impacts environmental sustainability. In the countries most affected by this issue, salinity stress can lead to crops yield losses – such as rice or beans – of up to 70 percent.

Related: are US aquifers damaged beyond repair?

This comes at a time when there is an urgent need to boost food production to feed a growing global population.

The report estimates the area of salt-affected soils at 1 381 million ha (Mha), or 10.7 percent of the total global land area. It further estimates that 10 percent of irrigated cropland and 10 percent of rainfed cropland are affected by salinity, although uncertainty remains high due to limited data availability.

Models of global aridity trends indicate that, under the existing trend of temperature increase, the affected area may increase to between 24 and 32 percent of the total land surface. The vast majority of aridification is expected to occur in developing countries.

The drivers of salinisation are both natural and induced by humans

The climate crisis is increasing aridity and freshwater scarcity. Rising sea levels are projected to place more than one billion people in coastal zones at risk of progressive flooding and salinisation by the end of the century. Additionallly, global warming is contributing to salinisation through the thawing of permafrost.

Inadequate agricultural practices also play a significant role. These include irrigating crops with poor-quality water, inadequate drainage, deforestation and the removal of deep-rooted vegetation, excessive water pumping in coastal and inland areas, the overuse of fertilisers, de-icing agents, and mining activity.

Global freshwater use, in particular, has increased sixfold during the last century, contributing to groundwater salinisation due to the overexploitation of aquifers for irrigation purposes.

Call for action

Since salt-affected soils account for at least 10 percent of land, their sustainable management is crucial to meet growing food demands. The report offers a series of strategies for managing salt-affected soils sustainably. Mitigation strategies include mulching, using interlayers of loose material, installing drainage systems and improving crop rotations.

Related: This sweet pea is smart when choosing a bacterial partner

Adaptation strategies include breeding salt-tolerant plants (such as halophytes, which flourish in mangrove swamps, tropical sand and cliff shorelines, and even salt deserts) and bioremediation – using bacteria, fungi, plants or animals to remove, destroy or sequester hazardous substances from the environment.

By highlighting the critical link between sustainable soil management, water quality, and food production, “the report outlines strategies for the recovery of agricultural salt-affected soils, including emerging fields like saline agriculture and salinity bioremediation,” Lifeng Li, Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division, and Jorge Batlle-Sales, Chair of the International Network of Salt-affected Soils (INSAS), wrote in its Forward.

The report also calls for a legal framework at the national and international levels to safeguard natural saline ecosystems and ensure the sustainable management of agricultural soils under irrigation, particularly in areas at risk of salinisation. The main goal is to protect productivity, quality, and overall soil health, ensuring food quality and quantity for future generations.

The post These countries have the saltiest soil and include the US, China and Iran appeared first on Green Prophet.

Who was Daniel Hillel and how has he forever changed water’s relationship to food? He was an American who moved to Palestine in the 1940s. He then pioneered desert agriculture in Israel’s Negev Desert.

Daniel Hillel was born the youngest of five children in Los Angeles, California, at the beginning of the Great Depression. His father died in 1931 when Daniel was one year old, and shortly thereafter his mother moved the family to live with her parents in Palestine, a part of which eventually became the State of Israel in 1948.

At the age of nine, Daniel was sent to live in the countryside on a kibbutz. His experience in this dry, agrarian setting inspired his lifelong appreciation of the land and the need to protect its resources, leading him to pursue an academic and professional career in agriculture.

In 1946, the teenaged Hillel returned to the United States to attend high school in Charleston, South Carolina, the former hometown of his maternal grandparents. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from the University of Georgia in 1950, and a Master of Science degree in earth sciences from Rutgers University in 1951.

Hillel’s first posting upon returning to the nascent state of Israel in 1951 was with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, where he took part in the first mapping of the country’s soil and irrigation resources.

He soon left the Ministry to join a group of idealistic settlers dedicated to creating a viable agricultural community in the Negev Desert highlands by nurturing the region’s meager but vital resources.

In 1952, he took part in establishing the Negev settlement of Sde Boker. When the country’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, toured the area with his wife a year later, he was so impressed by that venture that he resigned from the government and became a member of Sde Boker.

Ben Gurion and Hillel became close friends as they worked together on the kibbutz. Recognizing the young scientist’s exceptional capabilities, Ben Gurion sent him on goodwill missions to promote sustainable agricultural techniques in developing countries. In 1956, Hillel was sent to Burma on his first assignment to help develop the country’s frontier.

Later, in 1957, he earned a Ph.D. in soil physics and ecology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then did post-doctoral work at the University of California in soil physics and hydrology from 1959 to 1961.

He pioneered drip irrigation

Throughout his work, Hillel pioneered a new approach to irrigation that led to a dramatic shift away from the prevailing method used in the first half of the 20th century, which applied water in brief periodic episodes of flooding to saturate the soil, followed by longer, drying out periods. The new, innovative method developed and disseminated by Hillel and others in Israel applied water continuously, in small amounts, directly to the plant roots, with dramatic results in plant production and water conservation.

Hillel is featured in the film Symphony of Soil

Hillel’s development and promotion of better land and water management clearly demonstrated that farmers no longer needed to depend on the soil’s ability to store water, as was the case when using the age-old method of high volume, low frequency irrigation.

The technology he advanced, including drip, trickle and continuous-feed irrigation, has improved the quality of life and livelihoods throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Hillel proved that plants grown in continuously moist soil, achieved through micro-irrigation, produce higher yields than plants grown under the old flooding or sprinkler irrigation methods. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop,” with the successful cultivation of field crops and fruit trees – even in coarse sands and gravel.

By integrating complex scientific principles, designing practical applications, and achieving wide outreach to farmers, communities, researchers, and agricultural policymakers in more than 30 countries, Hillel has impacted the lives of millions.

His water management concepts—promoted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as HELPFUL (High-frequency, Efficient, Low-volume, Partial-area, Farm-unit, Low-cost)—have spread from Israel to Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. HELPFUL irrigation technology is now used to produce high-yielding, nutritious food on more than six million hectares worldwide.

Harvesting rainwater

Hillel also helped devise a range of other adaptable, sustainable water management techniques for arid regions, specifically, harvesting rainwater by inducing and collecting runoff from sloping ground, which could allow farmers to grow crops on previously barren lands.

His innovative approaches to enhancing infiltration and reducing evaporation through soil surface treatments have enhanced agricultural productivity. He has defined ways to control the leaching of solutes, the water-logging of root zones, and the erosion of topsoil by precisely determining the supply of water required with only small increments of percolation and drainage needed to prevent salt accumulation.

Hillel participated in many missions around the world, working for and with international agencies and organizations such as the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote water-use efficiency in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. He also worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. and the International Development Research Center of Canada.

He held positions as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research, part of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and with NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Along with his international field and development work, Hillel embarked on a career in academia as a researcher and professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the University of Massachusetts, Columbia University, and other major research centers worldwide.

He wrote or edited more than 20 books on soil and water science; his seminal textbooks have been translated into 12 languages. He has published more than 300 scientific papers, research reports, and practical manuals, and authored books for the general public on the vital role of soil and water in healthy agro-ecosystems.

Hillel demonstrated the synergistic linkages across food production, water management, and soil science. His achievements have been and will continue to be essential to extending the Green Revolution and confronting the many global challenges in fighting hunger and poverty into the next century.

For his critical work in developing new micro-irrigation systems and disseminating this revolutionary approach to more than 30 countries, he was awarded The World Food Prize in 2012. Significantly, his nomination included letters of support from individuals from three Arab countries.

At the ceremony at which he received The World Food Prize, the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. Ban Ki-moon joined in presenting the sculpture to him, and Princess Haya bint Al Hussein and Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani of Qatar were also in the audience.

“Water has been a very big topic of concern here in the State Department,” said then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “We have tried to focus our government’s attention and the world’s attention on the importance of getting ahead of what will be a devastating water crisis if we are not smarter and more purposeful in addressing the problems now. It’s especially fitting that we honor today someone who has made such contributions because he understood the critical role that water plays in agriculture and the importance of getting every last drop used efficiently.”

Hillel said in a statement on winning the award: “My joy and gratitude at being granted the World Food Prize this year is tempered by the realization that the work this award recognizes is far from complete. The task of improving the sustainable management of the Earth’s finite and vulnerable soil, water, and energy resources for the benefit of humanity while sustaining the natural biotic community and its overall environmental integrity is an ongoing and increasingly urgent challenge for our generation and for future generations.

“Meeting this challenge will require enhanced global cooperation and integrated scientific research. It is a task, indeed a collective responsibility, that we cannot shirk and must indeed broaden and intensify.”

Daniel, sadly, passed away in 2021 and was given a tribute by World Scientific Publishing, where he published a number of books. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop”.

Hillel was also a dedicated teacher who, through his signature textbooks, literally taught thousands of students the fundamentals (or as he would say, “Da Mental Fun”) of soil and water processes.

We wish we could have met this incredible man.

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We often think about technology solutions like agtech or hydroponics to save the world. To feed us. But a new study from level headed scientists point to soil health as the key to feeding us and mitigating climate change as healthy soil acts as a massive carbon sink.

A new peer-reviewed research report published by the Soil Health Institute provides fresh insights into the vital role that soil organic carbon levels can play in preventing drought, reducing flooding and improving the health and water retention of the soils used to grow crops.

The publication includes the development of new pedotransfer function equations, available for use by other researchers, that enable more precise measurement of the correlation between carbon levels, water retention and various soil types.

Learn how to raise soil carbon levels

These new equations will allow scientists to better predict how much water farmers can provide to their crops through improved soil health – specifically, by raising their soil carbon.

According to the Institute healthy soil that is rich in carbon acts like a sponge to soak up rainfall and store it for crops. While farmers have known this for a long time, it has been hard for scientists to predict how much extra water farmers can expect when they use regenerative agriculture practices that improve soil carbon. This is important because many farmers consider water management to be the biggest reason to adopt soil health management practices like no-till or cover crops.

“A positive, causal relationship between soil organic carbon and plant water-holding capacity has direct benefit by increasing crops’ resistance to drought,” said Dianna Bagnall, a soil research scientist and lead author of the study.

According to Bagnall, previous research on this relationship has been mixed, with some findings showing negligible impact on soils’ water-retention capacities from higher soil carbon levels while others showed a substantial increase in water holding.

This new study took a different approach, drawing on a more comprehensive sample of soil from locations throughout North America, using more natural, preserved soil structures, and identifying levels of calcium carbonate, which can impact water-holding capabilities, in the soil samples as part of its analysis.

“Our findings showed an increase in water-holding capacities for non-calcareous soils (those lacking calcium carbonate) resulting from soil organic carbon that was more than double that of earlier studies,” Bagnall said. “This is an exciting development, since it provides a concrete incentive for farmers to adopt more responsible soil management practices that will positively impact their productivity and profitability.”

To help farmers evaluate the impact carbon sequestration and other practices might have on their businesses, the Institute is developing a decision support tool, “to allow farmers to review various management practices to achieve a targeted increase in available water-holding capacity and better drought resilience in their soils,” Bagnall said.

The new equations discussed in the study are freely available for use by other scientists. Find them here.

“Our hope is that other scientists and conservationists will build on this work to develop new models for how soils can offset carbon emissions and make agriculture more drought resistant,” Bagnall said.

The post Soil health calculator appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you grew up in the 70s or 80s no one was talking about climate change: they were talking about nuclear war and acid rain. Acid rain made Kimberly’s hair turn green in the TV show Different Strokes; Canada’s environmental minister called it the “malaria of the biosphere” and it kept me away at night worrying.  Acid rain was the fallout of industrial chemicals and pollution into forests and lakes. As it rained toxins were picked up by the water and the toxins were rained down in close and faraway parts of the world. 

Canada suffered a massive amount of acid rain from the United States as it blew northward. The Ukraine and the rest of Europe experienced more than acid, but nuclear rain, after the Chernobyl meltdown.

So in the 60s and even into the 70s, before the American Clean Air Act of 1970 came into full effect, rainfall over the United States and Canada was full of acid. It killed lakes all over Canada and I remember canoeing in beautiful, but dead, lakes when I was a kid. We talked about it all the time. Acid rain was a thing. 

Acid rain is precipitation that mixes with gases from industrial plants, emissions from cars, and especially coal and fossil fuel pollution. That caused the water to become acidic – also called “acid rain.” Coal plants can also actually cause rain. Read this article about it. 

Besides the air pollution hurting plants and humans and lakes, this acid rain also hurt our soil. Even dry deposits of these acidic emissions could be hurtful to humans, plants, soil and water. Acidic soil can bind nutrients so that plants can’t get them. It can hurt the microbes in soil, as well as plants. But new research suggests that soils can bounce back. 

One odd “helpful” thing acid rain did, though, researchers had found, was to provide a few nutrients to the soil. The sulfur in the acid rain – in the form of sulfates – actually provided nutrition to plants.

However, the benefit was negligible, and the overall effects of pollution required regulation. Occasionally, cities like Los Angeles will still experience “smog.” The incidents are even more common in China and India, where little regulation is in effect. (Read this good BBC article on the bittersweet story of solving acid rain).

Jennifer Knoepp, with the US Forest Service, has been studying how the reduction of air pollution and acid rain is affecting forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Her interest is to see how soils are recovering as our air gets cleaner.

How does soil fare after the Clean Air Act?

Both the 1970 Clean Air Act and 1990 Amendment regulated emissions across the United States, resulted in improved air and water quality. But what about the soil – the “skin” of the earth – that provides for food and shelter and is home to the world’s largest biodiversity?

“We have found significant movement of sulfate from the soils over time,” says Knoepp. “Sulfate is moving out of the surface soils and into the subsoil. In addition, the streams in our study site show improved water quality. However, soils and streams still exhibit chemical imbalances. This suggests recovery from decades of acid rain is a long-term process.”

To evaluate the soils and water, researchers sampled 24 high elevation spruce-fir forest sites and two watersheds in the southern Appalachians. The sites represent a region in the southeastern U.S. with high gradients in elevation and precipitation, as well as high biodiversity.

The research area includes sites within the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Both are major tourist and outdoor recreation destinations. 

Recent soil collections were compared to archived soil samples from the 80s and 90s. Sample archives are essential to long-term research. They provide the ability to conduct tests not planned during an original experimental design. 

The research team analyzed both the newly collected and archived samples for “extractable sulfate.” All data were used to determine the long-term response of southern Appalachian forests to changes in sulfate deposition that occurred after the implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1990.

Data show that sulfate in precipitation and streams declined after implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendment. They also show that completely reversible sulfate has declined in surface soils. Sub-surface soils show either no change or an increase in partially reversible sulfate.

Knoepp presented her work at the November International Annual Meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America in San Antonio as the Sergei A. Wilde Distinguished Lectureship on Forest Soils. 

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We walk on it, dig into it, and build with it. We depend on it to grow food and clothing, filter water, and support natural ecosystems. Soil is essential to life.

Join the American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America in celebrating SOIL! World Soil Day is celebrated every year on December 5. The day focuses attention on the importance of protecting soil as one of our valuable, natural resources.

Here are the top 5 ways we can support soil.

Reduce food waste

The food we buy at the grocery store impacts the entire food supply system. One of the easiest ways we can support the soil is by limiting the amount of food that ends up in our garbage. All the food that ends up in our shopping carts requires land, water, nutrients and energy to produce. By consuming more and throwing away less, we will prevent valuable nutrients from ending up in a landfill!

Eat a diverse diet

By eating different types of foods, we can help create demand for a wide variety of agricultural products, which is better for soil. Food diversity helps with biodiversity and soil fertility when land is used to grow multiple crops. For protein sources, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends varying “your protein routine.” 

Compost

So maybe our eyes were bigger than our appetites at the grocery store, and we end up with food we can’t finish. Instead of throwing it in the garbage, consider investing in a compost system! Composting can return nutrients in food back to nature. And, compost will be great for our gardens next growing season.

Read labels on lawn and garden products

Walking through the aisles of any home improvement or garden store, there is a seemingly endless array of products for our lawns and gardens. No matter which product we end up selecting, the most important step before applying is to thoroughly read the label and all instructions. Over- and under-application of the product can both cause problems. 

Perform soil tests

If we are looking to fertilize our lawn or garden, we need to know what nutrients are already in the soil before applying more. We might be able to save money and apply less fertilizer. Or, we might just need to add one specific nutrient, and not others. A simple way to get reliable results is to have our soil tested. Local university extension services can help provide information on testing soil. It’s usually a matter of scooping up soil from a few areas of the yard and sending it in to the lab!

The American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America wish you a happy and sustainable World Soil Day! Don’t forget to do your part to support our valuable, natural resource.

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A new school year starts this week and, in the annual house-scan for fresh notebooks and pens, I unearth more mysterious clutter, stuff that grows like Chia Pets in underused drawers and cupboards.  You probably have the same problem: business cards from ages-ago jobs, dusty bottles of antique spices, a stack of Teletubbies paper plates (that little birthday girl is now pushing 16).

My greenest friend observed the clean-out and told me to chuck it all in the compost heap. A few minutes spent Googling, and it seems her tip is legit. These odd items might make your garden thrive:

1. Old paper business cards
2. Outdated herbs and spices
3. Bamboo skewers
4. Dryer lint
5. The contents of your vacuum cleaner bag
6. Wine corks
7. Paper egg cartons
8. Toothpicks
9. Pet hair
10. Human hair
11. Matches
12. Pencil shavings
13. Paper napkins
14. Crepe paper streamers
15. Old potpourri
16. Latex condoms
17. Nail clippings
18. Feathers
19. Dog food
20. Cardboard rolls from toilet paper and paper towels

Author disclosure: I mostly trust my friends, and my friends are mostly comedians. Have you dropped these ingredients in your own fertilizer factories with good results, or am I about to become another cautionary tale?

Image of women farmers from Shutterstock

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