Soil - Our food system's superpower? With Charles Dowding

Would you eat veg with soil on it? But what if it was potentially healthier for you and the planet?

According to the UN’s FAO, over 90% of the Earth’s soil could be degraded by 2050. There are several reasons but “conventional farming” that uses chemicals (e.g. pesticides), machinery and other modern techniques is potentially adding to the problem.

So what’s the solution? Is organic farming (using no pesticides) enough?

Charles Dowding, this week’s podcast guest, is an unsung hero of progressive farming. An author, YouTuber and NO DIG pioneer, Charles started his experimentation with NO DIG back in 1982 and the results were amazing. From the wonderful harvest and reduction in weeds; to the improvement in retention of health within the food he grew, Charles realised he had hit on something special!

Since then Charles has been sharing his findings about the benefits of NO DIG and the movement is catching on!

Within our own 4-acre farm we also practice the method of NO DIG: we are new to farming in this capacity and so far we are getting so much joy from it.

“Through my experience, I’ve become more and more aware of how soil works, through not working it! I’ve increased my understanding of biodiversity and the need to keep carbon in the soil. Digging, and any form of soil exposure, releases CO2 into the atmosphere. No dig keeps carbon locked in the soil, and carbon in many forms is the building block of soil structure and food.”

We absolutely loved this episode. We hope you dig it, too!

Lots of Love,

Dave & Steve

To find out more about Charles and the NO DIG movement visit his site: https://charlesdowding.co.uk/

Produced By Sean Cahill and Sara Fawsitt

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