The Benefits Of Organic Matter

When the soil contains sufficient organic material, farming becomes far easier and less risky. In contrast, in a chemically based system, the interaction between the minerals becomes critical and complex, and a farmer needs a great deal of experience and knowledge to get good results.

- Bill Kerr

A high content of organic material provides a buffer that makes mineral imbalance less critical. To some extent, the soil becomes self-regulating. The beneficial organisms predominate and suppress the harmful organisms or pathogens, such as eelworm.

The relationship between soil organisms, humus and plant health is greatly underrated. After six years of agricultural education and 40 years of practical vegetable farming, the benefits of this relationship eluded me until I started breeding plants on my own land. During the first phase of my career, my vegetables were planted in chemically fertilised virgin soil and frequently suffered from disease: the carrots were badly infected with Rhizoctonia, the beans were targeted by both Rhizoctonia and