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We're Talking Dirt!

© Kate Berry

Today, I am covered with dirt. It is wedged under my fingernails, caked in my hair, even smeared on my face. I am relatively certain that I'll leave little piles of the stuff on the bathroom floor whenever I change out of my clothes. Ordinarily, appearing in such a soiled state leads to questions about personal hygiene. After all, 'dirt' is considered by many to be synonymous with squalor.

But I am a gardener; I understand the importance of dirt. Not just any dirt, mind you, but good dirt. Dirt that is enriched with nutrients. Dirt teaming with microorganisms, so crumbly and loose that plant roots spread out to eagerly embrace every fine particle. Dirt so lovingly tended that it is elevated beyond mere dirt to that elegant stuff known as Soil (with a capital S.)

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Plunge your hands into freshly tilled soil and you can feel the cadence of nature's life cycle churning underneath your fingertips. Each handful of fertile soil contains bits of decaying organic matter, holds moisture, carries oxygen, and sustains life.

Plants rise from the ground, fed by the decaying bodies of their ancestors. After their days or years in the sun, they topple and from their remains spring new progeny. In purely virgin forest soil, the cycle churns forward without human intervention. With the aid of mice, insects, and birds the plants rise, procreate and give way to new life. It is ordered chaos, scheduled destruction. It occurs at nature's leisurely pace that, frankly, can be infuriatingly slow if you're hoping to ensure that this year's roses will bear huge, healthy blooms.

To nourish plants, be they roses or rubrum, soil must have a suitable structure to allow root development and to serve as a distribution system for water and nutrients vital to plant growth. This, in turn, depends on the soil's texture, water absorption, and fertility.

Soil Strata

Obviously, soil is complex. It is so complex that it comes in three layers: topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock. Topsoil, the layer under your feet, is continually regenerated by the decomposing leaves and other organic matter. Its color varies depending on your geography, as anyone familiar with the South's distinctive red or California's light tan dirt can tell you.

About six inches beneath the topsoil, and often clearly delineated, lies the subsoil, which is usually far less rich in nutrients and more compacted. In fact, if there is no clear delineation between the two, the topsoil is probably poor in organic matter.

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