Here’s something most people don’t know about a plant growing in good soil: it isn’t feeding itself. It’s trading.
The trade
Living in the soil are fungi called mycorrhizal fungi. They wrap themselves around the plant’s roots and reach far out into the ground, much further than the roots can go on their own. Out there, they collect water and nutrients and pass them back to the plant.
In return, the plant pays them in sugar. It makes that sugar in its leaves through photosynthesis, then sends some of it down through the roots to keep the fungi going. Both sides win, and it’s been working this way for a very long time.
A network that takes years to build
This underground network doesn’t come in a bag. You can’t bottle it or buy it. It grows in slowly, season after season, as long as the soil is left alive and undisturbed.
Every time soil gets turned over, that network is torn apart and has to start again.
Why we don’t dig
That’s the reason our beds are no-till. We don’t plough or turn the soil between crops. We feed it from the top and leave the fungi, microbes and old root channels where they are, so the trade just keeps running from one season to the next.
What living soil actually means
When we say living soil, this is what we mean. Not just dirt in a bed, but soil that is busy with fungi, microbes and roots all working together.
It’s also part of why we’re certified organic, under Southern Cross Certified, organic certificate 26078. Healthy soil life and synthetic inputs don’t mix, so we look after the biology instead. You can check it any time: search 26078 on the Southern Cross Certified register.
