It is often underestimated and overlooked. Yet soil is a precious resource. It forms the foundation for the health, productivity and quality of both plants and animals. We need to pay much closer attention to it, because there are things that really take their toll: monocultures, pesticides, mineral fertilisers and the wide tyres of heavy tractors. These reduce crop yields and the soil's ability to store carbon and water — and with that, its capacity to actively contribute to climate and flood protection.
In organic farming, maintaining and improving soil fertility is one of the core principles. Measures that build humus and promote soil life are a matter of course in organic agriculture. These include growing mixed crops and legumes, diverse crop rotations and organic fertilisation.
Organic matter in particular plays a vital role in soil. Without humus and soil organisms, there is no soil fertility. Erosion resistance, structural stability and water retention all depend on the organic matter content. Soil is teeming with life — in just one gram of soil, billions of different organisms make their home, chief among them bacteria and earthworms. For organic farmers, the spade test is an important tool for assessing soil health.
A quarter of all species on Earth live hidden beneath the surface. The value of humus and soil organisms for soil fertility simply cannot be overstated. Organic farming therefore focuses on actively building humus — and on supporting these underground helpers in their vital work.
Tasting the Soil
Last autumn, we took part in an extraordinary event. During the field days at Schloss Esterhazy, theFiBL (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture)hosted a "soil tasting". The afternoon began with a spray-agent tasting. The organic yarrow tea with a hint of organic thyme brought home two things: that the plant-strengthening preparations used in organic farming taste genuinely good, and that they can be sampled without any concern. Wines and soils were then "tasted" side by side.
For us, the event was above all an important prompt to reflect on our own soil. Without healthy, living soils,our philosophyof "From the Field into the Bottle" would be unthinkable.
