For this World’s Environmental Day, we’d like to share the story of our land, our earth, and our soil with you.

Fertile land is fundamental to farming.

For over 10 years, the soil at our farm has dramatically changed. Believing that Mother Earth can improve on her own, we apply different techniques that interfere with our soil the least. Years of natural and organic farming, with a small-machine plowing technique, have proved us we are not wrong. Our soil quality has immensely improved without us adding anything more to it.

All farmers want a soft fertile land to grow things. However, when they apply chemical fertilizers, instead of adding more nutrients to the soil, they are causing soil structure to change. As soil particles start to stick together, it becomes hard for the plant’s roots to expand deep underneath it. The lack of organic matters makes the situation worse. In the end, years of heavy use of chemical fertilizers have caused real problems for all industrial farmers.

If the problems all farmers face is creating a fertile land that is soft enough for the roots to expand and get the nutrients needed, we’d like to share with you our story.

We spent the first few years of our Happy Earth journey restoring our land that was once heavily damaged from chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Years of industrial farming with economical crops like corn, tapioca, and sugar cane have left our land hard and dry. It was so bad that you could breathe in the soil particles and feel it in the nose. That is how it was like when we first started.

To improve the soil quality, we made a conscious decision to stop relying on these chemicals totally. Instead, we started growing green bean and using it as raw-plant fertilizer, while rotating it with sesame crops. The discarded green bean and sesame stems are used to cover the soil and prevent it from erosion. We let the soil rest with no interference underneath the warm cozy dry leaves and stems. Soon, different kinds of grass, weeds, and herbs started to show up. Over ten years, we collected many different species of weeds that grow on our land. We notice that they change from one year to another year.

Weeds that can survive the hard dry land are those with strong roots such as Shameplants, Washerman’s plant, or Devil’s Thorn. Later, when the soil becomes softer we find Cockscomb or Morning Glory whose stems can hold water, start shooting beautifully.

Mr. Jacob, a biodynamic farmer from Australia once visited our farm and mentioned that the different kinds of unintentional weeds bring about what is needed most at that time. According to biodynamic farming, each weed brings the necessary nutrients from the air to the earth. After the harvest season, farmers should sow different seeds on the land, especially the bean family as it can be turned into raw plant fertilizer. Following Biodynamic farming principles, we feel that the different types of weeds show us how fertile the soil is.

When each weed pops up on our land, they are not just absorbing the nutrients as many believe. They also help break down the soil as they expand their roots. When these plants die in the dry summer season, these roots die and turn into the organic matter for the soil. The loosen soil brings more air, microbiomes, and different creatures back in the land. In a way, weeds add more life and health to the soil.

After the dry season, the growing season starts. With the rain, these weeds start to bud up. This year, it is the running grass’s turn. We cut and shovel them into the ground to make raw fertilizer as usual. And when we take the roots from the soil out, we notice that our soil has turned soft and loose. We make a small ball on our bare hand and it seems like it can hold its round shape without sticking on our hands or cracking. This is a sign of good earth.

During the past few years, we find that underneath our kaffir lime and bitter orange trees different herbs such as Andrographis or spinach starts show up out of nowhere. We also notice earthworms in the dark soil. There’s more life to the lifeless earth back then.

After fighting this for 15 years, our hard work finally pays off. Seeing our Earth is happy, we cannot be happier.

That’s what our learn, live, grow with Mother Earth Journey is all about.

Hope you enjoyed the story of our land post. Happy Environmental Day everyone. Let’s take care of Mother Earth as if she’s your mother.