Do you realize that billions, yes billions, of organisms surround our units and surrounding areas and are working for our benefit for free? It is true that many would require a microscope to see – but not all. There are ten million microorganisms and fungi in every gram of soil. 

This is a good time of year to take a handful of soil and smell it. I like to get it right out of the woods – it has a rich earthy, yet clean smell. Some of that good smell is from the iron and other nutrients which have been broken down into a useable form. 

Dainty or not to discuss, live animals such as squirrels, rabbits, bats, deer, etc. eventually die and their bodies are quietly returned to the earth. “Dust to dust” the Bible says accurately, if not entirely scientifically descriptive. Together the broken down material is called “humus” – the spongier the better – with lots of holes and room for air, water and nutrients. Compacted soil is almost useless. Sand and clay soil can also be contained in the mixture. This travels primarily by rainwater and runoff. This handful of soil is much like living things and needs the protection we afford useful living creatures.

Overuse of chemical fertilizers, heavy use of chemical insecticides and herbicides are cumulative. As plants cannot directly take in the chemical fertilizers, it is the microorganisms that convert the fertilizer intro nutritive form. Too much chemical fertilizer (especially nitrogen rich) causes ammonia to increase in the soil. Ammonia is toxic to living creatures and, as the soil is the living creature, eventually the organism begin to die. When large amounts of insecticides are used, which are also toxic to living creatures, the soil becomes less and less fertile, less spongy and nutritious. As to the use of herbicides and insecticides in soil, someone once commented that the quick and reflexive use of these chemicals when a problem arises without soil testing is akin to deciding that headaches are caused by a lack of aspirin in the blood. After continual use of the chemicals over time, you may as well put them on the tarmac for all the good they will do. We cannot outwit nature.

One of the fastest growing businesses is organic farming. Why would anyone buy organic fruits and vegetables when they cost more? The farming practices organic farmers are using will not destroy the soil but rather, in most cases, improve the soil. Also, it is well known that children of farm workers in areas where chemical fertilizers and insecticides are in heavy use are much more likely to get cancer. And we know that individuals living in areas where lawn chemicals are used injudiciously are more likely to suffer health problems. Information on both of these issues was readily available on the Internet. Will insecticides and herbicides and other chemicals affect the health of the person who eats the vegetable or fruit? The answer to that is still not entirely clear. None-the-less when one computes the health costs to farmers and others, and the environmental costs to the land itself, buying organic seems much less expensive than they appear at first glance.

When the first farms arrived on the open plains and cut into the soil, they had many feet of top soil. Unlike New England where we were lucky to have accumulated a foot of top soil, the grasslands had accumulated 20 feet. Within one century that top soil had disappeared in many cases. The plains are considered the bread basket of this country. Agribusiness has not, in most cases, been good stewards of the land. By buying organic we support farms, who by their nature of raising foods in an organic manner, are using sustainable land practices. Many societies have entirely disappeared due to depletion of the soil. Mesopotamia is a good example. Areas of North Africa have been farming so long, using poor soil techniques, that the amount produced per acre is severely limited and is responsible for the famines which often arise in these countries. Ninety percent of the desserts of the world have been caused by mankind using unsustainable farming practices along with cutting down forests. While there is little to be done to restore forests in the desserts of the world, there is much an individual can do to promote good soil use. When possible buy organic vegetables and fruits. Request organic vegetables and fruits in your local supermarket if they are not already available.

As I walked around our complex one day, I heard crows making unfamiliar sounds. When I looked up, I saw five crows - the proper term for a bunch of crows is a 'murder' of crows and in this instance they were a murderous bunch. They were harassing one red-tailed hawk. Even though the hawk was performing all kinds of amazing maneuvers to get away, the crows persisted, diving at his head hoping to peck at his most vulnerable eyes. No doubt the hawk had grabbed either a crow chick or egg. Eventually the hawk flew so high into the clouds the crows had to give up, except for one crow who even then persisted (the mother perhaps?) and would not let up. Finally they went entirely out of sight. I believe that all of us need the persistence of crows to ask for changes in the way our food is produced, the way chemicals are used. And perhaps in the end, like the crows, we do this more for the generation to come than for ourselves.