Farmer Al still remembers the first time he heard someone explain the Soil Food Web.
It was about 30 years ago at an EcoFarm Conference, where soil biologist Dr. Elaine Ingham took the stage to share her groundbreaking research on the microscopic world beneath our feet. The audience was captivated!
“It was blockbuster, exciting new info,” Farmer Al remembers. “George Lucas could not have come up with anything more fantastic.”
The hidden universe beneath our feet
Like any great sci-fi story, the Soil Food Web reveals an entire universe most people never see. Beneath the surface of every orchard is a bustling underground ecosystem made up of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, worms, and countless other organisms working together in ways scientists are still discovering.
These organisms are constantly feeding, digesting, and cycling nutrients that plants and trees rely on to grow. At the same time, they help break down minerals, improve soil structure, and create healthier conditions for roots to thrive.
The scale of life underground is astonishing. Hundreds of thousands of species interact at a microscopic level to support the plants and trees that feed our world. In fact, at the EcoFarm Conference, Farmer Al learned that microbial life in the soil makes up 60 percent of all species on Earth!
Farming with nature, not against it
When the Soil Food Web is healthy and balanced, nature does much of the heavy lifting on its own. Just think about a forest. Forests flourish without anyone fertilizing the soil, spraying pesticides, or pulling weeds. The ecosystem sustains itself through relationships underground.
That idea has guided many of our farming practices at Frog Hollow Farm for decades. We aim to work with Mother Nature as much as possible by reducing the disruptions that can weaken soil biology. We keep living roots in the ground, we plant cover crops, and we do not use weed killers.
“Billions of acres of farmland are treated with weed killers because humans have a mindset that weeds compete with crops, so you have to kill them,” Farmer Al says. “But weed killers are the worst thing you can use because they disrupt the Soil Food Web.”
What many people see as weeds can actually play an important role in building healthy soil. Grasses and weeds help stimulate microbial life and create channels that improve water movement through the soil. Rather than eliminating them entirely, we mow them and leave the clippings behind as mulch.
“Microbes get into the cut grass, and continue building their own Soil Food Web,” Farmer Al says.
The less disruption there is to the natural processes happening underground, the more resilient crops can become. Healthy soil creates stronger trees that are naturally better equipped to handle pests and disease.
Replenishing what we harvest
Of course, even regenerative farming requires thoughtful management. We still support our trees with tools inspired by nature, including compost for fertility and compost tea to help manage pests. We also test our soil annually to monitor minerals like calcium, nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium so we can replenish what the orchard uses each season.
And that brings us back to the forest comparison. Unlike a forest, a farm is designed to harvest food. Every peach, cherry, or pear we pick removes nutrients from the ecosystem.
“Remember that when we remove that peach from the field, we are removing it so people can eat it,” Farmer Al says. “We are removing it from the habitat and the ecology of the soil. Whatever minerals went into making that plant, we are taking them away. We have to replace what we remove. And we’re doing that in a way that is as thoughtful as possible, so we can grow healthy crops that create healthy food.”