Living Soil

When growing on living soil, you feed the soil in which the plant grows and not the plant itself. Living soil is a cocktail of micro-organisms, fungi, worm manure and soil improvers mixed with a very lightly fertilized soil. After just a few days, a system starts up that feeds the plant and sustains itself endlessly. Almost every plant, large or small, in the growth or flowering phase can be grown on living soil.
The plant does not need to receive extra fertilizers. Only water. The buffering effect of living soil makes over- and under-fertilization impossible. The necessity of using a PH meter is also a thing of the past.
In fact, living soil is nothing more than the symbiosis between plant and soil life as it has evolved over hundreds of millions of years.
After all, a plant in nature also grows without the addition of fertilizers.
Plants grown on living soil are lush, healthy plants that distinguish themselves in terms of yield, taste, smell and colour. Healthy, strong plants also mean less risk of pests and diseases and thus reduce the risk of having to use pesticides.

Biochar

One of the most important elements of living soil is biochar. Biochar is the charcoal-like substance that remains after so-called pyrolysis. This is combustion of organic material without oxygen. Biochar has the wonderful property that it retains nutrients in the soil and provides a habitat for useful microorganisms. Research has shown that peoples in the Amazon region already made this carbon before our era and mixed it with the top layer of the jungle soil to make it fertile. This led to a massive increase in food production that made it possible to feed a civilization of perhaps a million people. This society may well have been the “El Dorado” that the first Spanish conquerors heard the Indians talk about.
The earth mixed with carbon is called Terra Preta and is still very fertile to this day. In some areas, the top layer is excavated by local entrepreneurs and sold to farmers and gardeners. Strangely enough, after a few years the black top layer is just as thick as before the excavation. Like the Terra Preta regenerating itself. A process that is not understood today.

Mulching

During cultivation, the top layer of the soil is covered with plant material and sown with a so-called “top crop”. This process is called “mulching”. This not only adds the necessary nutrients for soil life, but also ensures that the soil does not dry out due to direct exposure to air and light.
The living soil, your plant and the top crop together form a soil and nutrient network that also keeps unwanted insects and fungi at bay. Over time, the organic material will decompose and be incorporated into the food chain. Keep covering the earth!

Pots

It is very important that you use your living soil in the right pot. This should not be too small. The bigger the better.
In addition, the pot must of course not release any toxic substances into the soil. Plastic pots often contain plasticizers and wooden containers are often treated with chemicals to extend their lifespan. The use of a fabric pot is therefore the most obvious. The pot offered by us here has very good water retention properties and ensures that the soil does not dry out too quickly. In addition, the open structure of the textile provides the soil and roots with abundant oxygen.

Advantages

-No more expensive fertilizer and complicated feeding schedules needed.
Earth can be reused endlessly.
-No risk of over or under fertilization.
-No PH measurements required.
-More resistance to pests and diseases.
-Very pure end product without the risk of traces of heavy metals that can be present in fertilizers.

Instructions

Mix 1 bag of 5 liters of Sana Preta with 40 liters of Light mix soil.
Fill the Living Soil pot45 pot with this.
Water the soil. During cultivation, make sure that the soil never dries out completely.
Cover the soil and leave it for a few days. Preferably in a cool dark place.
Plant your cuttings or seedlings.
Sow with top crop.
Cover the soil with plant material.

After the harvest, remove the large root remains and mix some worm manure or compost into the soil and you can get started again, starting with step 3.