Posted on: 8th April 2021

I have recently been preparing the soil in the vegetable patch for the new year of sowing vegetable seed.  I have transferred six buckets of compost from my main bin and three buckets of compost from the bin that takes the woodier material.  This routine of digging in well-rotted compost each year seems to keep the vegetables growing well without needing to resort to fertilizers.  

There seems to be an excess of shrubs in our garden which need cutting and this woody material does not compost quickly, so I put this in the Leeds brown bin that is earmarked for composting and presumably ends up as soil conditioner of some sort. 

Soil is part of the natural creation that contains chemical nutrients, organic remains as well as a string of living things: insects, fungi, bacteria, and numerous other invertebrates. It also has a mixture of minerals that help to provide grounding for plants. 

There are criticisms of many farming systems that are depleting the amount and quality of the soil but am I looking after my soil and trying to keep it in good condition? 

Does God have any interest in the state of my soil?  In Exodus 23: 10-11 God seems to want land and plants to have regular rest and be treated naturally. Geneses 2: 15 speaks of mankind taking care of the Garden of Eden. 

Written by Philip Le Masurier