What is dirt?
That might seem obvious, but the answer is more complex than you might think.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, 80% of U.S. households took part in outdoor lawn and gardening activities. More young people started to keep gardens, and the trend has held stable the last few years. (Garden shop owners hope it stays that way!)
But some new gardeners encounter an immediate obstacle. Nothing they plant seems to grow. They find themselves asking: Did they buy bad seeds? Do they have “black thumbs,” or in other words, are they just bad gardeners?
Chances are, it’s all about the dirt.
Hidden Life
We may first think of dirt as a nuisance—something to scrub off or sweep into a dustpan. But good soil has great value, and it teems with life. We’re not just talking about earthworms and grubs. Much of this dirt-dwelling life is microscopic.
Take just a spoonful of dirt from your garden. A whole urban zoo might contain 1,000 different species of living things that you can see. But that spoon of dirt contains at least 10,000 species and a billion cells—too small for your bare eye to see. There’s a whole ecosystem in your soil. It’s so huge that scientists don’t even have names for all the microscopic critters living there. But these microorganisms make plants thrive.
Holding Water
How can you foster this diversity of life in your soil? The most important ingredient for life is water, so it’s essential to have dirt that holds water well. That’s determined by the size of the tiny grains of rock in your dirt. Sandy soil has larger grains, so it doesn’t hold water well. Instead, this soil easily crumbles and washes away. On the opposite end, clay-like soil has such tiny grains that it turns compact. Plants struggle to reach the moisture packed tightly within. In between, you’ll find silt, which is perfect for holding water. But for the best soil, you’ll want a balance of all three dirt types.
Feed Your Dirt
If you want that life to grow, you need to feed it. That’s where compost comes in. Organic compost, such as old food scraps, adds nutrients to your soil, which the creatures in your garden break down into food for plants.
Sometimes, nature makes its own compost. Take the example of a dead leaf falling to the ground. First, arthropods (such as insects and mites) munch it up into smaller chunks. Then earthworms eat those chunks and digest them into food for microbes and fungi. In turn, microbes and fungi break down the worm poop with chemicals called enzymes. At long last, the leaf’s nutrients are broken down enough to dissolve into water that plants can absorb through roots.
Want to enliven your soil? Mix some spoiled leftovers or animal droppings into the dirt. Chances are, the microorganisms will show up for dinner.
The Bible talks about life coming from dirt. God made Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed life into Him. (Genesis 2:7) As God’s designated caretakers of the Earth, we can help bring life to the soil too.
Why? God designed an intricate world full of ecosystems that help each other, and He made it possible for soil, microorganisms, water, and sunlight to produce plant life.
