Term01
Aggregate
A crumb of soil glued together by roots, fungi and microbial slime. The gaps between crumbs hold air and water.
Field guide / 4 chapters
The science
What happens under the surface of a no-till bed, and why we leave it alone.
The science
Ch. 01 / The trade network
Mycorrhizae
Fungi plug straight into the roots. The plant pays in sugar. The fungus pays in phosphorus, nitrogen and water, hauled in from soil the roots could never reach on their own.
- Hyphae
- a fraction of a root hair's width
- Reach
- far past the root zone
- Currency
- sugar for minerals
Ch. 02 / Who eats who
Soil food web
Roots leak sugars that feed bacteria and fungi. Protozoa and nematodes eat them and release the leftover nitrogen right at the root, in a form the plant can use. Bigger critters keep the cycle turning.
- Start
- root exudates
- Middle
- bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes
- End
- plant-ready nitrogen
Ch. 03 / Never leave soil bare
Cover crops
A living cover keeps roots in the ground and the herd fed. Legumes like clover work with bacteria to pull nitrogen out of the air, and the canopy shields the surface from drying out.
- Roots
- living, all run long
- Legumes
- nitrogen from the air
- Surface
- shaded, moist, armored
Ch. 04 / Leave it be
Why no-till
Tilling shreds fungal networks, smashes the crumbs that hold air and water, and burns off carbon. Leave the bed alone and it builds structure instead. Same soil, run after run.
- Tilled
- networks cut, crumbs crushed
- No-till
- networks intact, structure builds
- Next run
- same bed, richer soil
05 / Glossary
Field notes
Term02
Exudates
Sugars, acids and proteins that roots leak on purpose to feed the microbes around them.Term03
Hyphae
The threads a fungus grows. Together they form a network called mycelium.Term04
Mycorrhizae
Fungi that partner with roots, trading minerals and water for the plant's sugar.Term05
Protozoa
Single-celled grazers that eat bacteria and release the extra nitrogen near the root.Term06
Nematodes
Microscopic worms. Most in healthy soil are the good guys, eating bacteria and fungi.Term07
Cover crop
Plants grown to protect and feed the soil rather than to harvest, like clover.Term08
Top dress
Adding amendments on top of the soil and letting the soil life carry them down, instead of mixing them in.