Skip to main content

Om, Om and Om



“Om” (short for Organic material) is one of the things which stuck deeply into my mind from the soil4life workshop in October – and that soil can never have enough of it to create some nice humus! Even though this wasn’t a completely new information after having taken a PDC in summer, I now remember it even more as one of the most important, easiest and best ways to obtain and/or conserve a healthy soil.
While traditionally we are often used to clean our gardens from most kinds of ‘unpretty’ stuff such as weeds, old plants, leaves etc., the first thing I did coming home, was to actually put exactly this ‘stuff’ – shredded old plants (to make it a little easier to de-compost) and leaves – into my mums garden, especially on blank and thus unprotected patches. Now I’m curious if and how it will look like after the winter when the time comes to prepare the gardens soil for the new growing season!
However, all in all, the seminar did not only inspire me to put more “Om” into the garden, but to actually start putting things into practice in a garden – thus, take moving back to the countryside as a chance and take over parts of my mums’ vegetable plot. I am motivated to try and experiment (and fail, too) and possibly re-think and re-plan it’s structure. As not too much outdoor work is done during winter, the following month are reserved for the thinking and planning, while the real practical work (at least the one that involves me) will start next spring!

By Freya Rixen, Soil4Life participant  (Germany)

C:\Users\Freya\Desktop\20191031_082651.jpg C:\Users\Freya\Desktop\20191031_084628.jpg
Shredded plants, put on bare patches in the garden

C:\Users\Freya\Desktop\DSC00095.jpgC:\Users\Freya\Desktop\DSC00092.jpg
After one month
C:\Users\Freya\Desktop\DSC00089.jpg
Leaves as natural soil cover

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SOIL4LIFE Webinar: JOINING FORCES FOR SOIL PROTECTION IN THE EU'S GREEN DEAL

      The webinar will take place in 5 March  - 1 0 . 3 0 - 1 2 . 3 0 ( U T C + 1 ) on the Zoom video platform. The main topic of the workshop is the achievement of a preliminary alignment of positioning among the EU environmental NGOs with respect to the priorities on soil protection, the required rules at supranational scale, and the way to make them more effective.      Click here to register for the webinar
Post a Comment
Read more

Read and Sign The Soil4Life Manifesto

  The time to act is Now!  Please read and sign the Soil4Life manifesto to show your support!   https://ccivs.org/soil-manifesto/ Sign the petition here: https://form.jotform.com/212072578209052 Our planet and the beings who reside here and make up the complex, whole, living system on which all life depends are under serious threat. Life functions are being threatened by exploitation, short term thinking, and a worldview that values economic and financial growth over the continuity of life and living systems.  The complex, interconnected systems through which life on our planet has been able to flourish and grow over millennia have been misunderstood, misrepresented and ill treated for too long. We, as humans, have attempted to detach ourselves from the web of life. We have created a hierarchical worldview and placed our species at the top, instead of playing an integrated part in its life processes.  This attitude and behaviour is destro...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Crossing - honouring our soil rather than profiting from it!

 The Soil in this community garden in a field in Sussex, UK, is full of life. We know that because it’s had 8 years of care and attention helping turn it from over grazed clay pasture into rich loamy soil. The succession has been from initial double-dig, to no -dig, plenty of bio-char added and now since becoming a full blown community-led project in the last year, bio-dynamic preparations and techniques are now being used also. Meanwhile, in the surrounding 7 acres of land, those in the local community interested in animal husbandry have been able to initiate goat, sheep, pig and chicken co-ops as part of a broader regeneration land practices. This is all thanks to the land owner who recognized the growing need for deepening community bonds and producing healthier soils and thereby food, and offered the use of his land for a small membership fee.  The Crossing is an example where exchange with and honouring our soil, rather profiting from it is at the heart of this. This expr...
Post a Comment
Read more