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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.