The statement to “treat someone like dirt” may soon take on a new meaning. We have learned about the vast network of fungi that live beneath the soil, and their symbiotic relationship with trees that live in the soil with them. Gardeners know that they must feed their soil if it is to produce healthy plants. But, it seems that we have only revealed the tip of the iceberg. Like the ocean, of which we have discovered barely 20%, our knowledge of the ground underneath us is sorely lacking. In permaculture we ask, “What is it we don’t know, that we don’t know?” For most of human history we did not know what we did not know. It seems that the more we learn about our planet, the more questions we raise.
Dirt, it turns out, forms the basis for life on our planet. It is the foundation of the very ground we stand on, yet it has been sadly neglected and abused. We scrape it off our boots and sweep it off our floors; but it is a precious substance. A single teaspoon of soil can contain as many as one billion organisms! From the smallest bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes to the mid-sized springtails, mites, centipedes, slugs, worms, beetles, and spiders, the soil is helped along by these hardworking inhabitants. They are assisted by mammals like moles, voles, mice, groundhogs, prairie dogs, and rabbits. All serve a purpose in the underground ecosystem doing the enormous job of breaking down and recycling dead matter.
Other studies are showing that a microbe found in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, is a natural antidepressant. It occurs naturally so there are no side effects. All we have to do is play in the dirt! This may in fact be the very thing that has gotten so many people (like me) hooked on gardening. All this time I thought dark chocolate was my antidepressant, when it may very well have been the soil I have spent so much time covered in! I am sure that fresh air and sunshine play a large part in uplifting our spirits as well. All of this wonderful news brings me back to what I have said many times – all of life is sacred – even the dirt beneath our feet!
