Top-soil and the upper-class

This blog post is borrowed from my blogspot where I wrote in 2011 that I was listening in on my Sustainable Produce Gardens class recording, and  found out something interesting. The microorganisms in our soil which break down organic matter and release nutrients in to the soil  so important for plant growth tend to hang out in the 'upper echelons' of the top-soil. Yes, they are refined,  high-class dudes.  Our teacher said that 75 per cent of these little critters hang about in the top 5 centimetres of our soil. This is why the top-soil is viewed as gold, and not to be messed with, or wasted!    So when planning your outdoor area, consider keeping as much softscape as possible, to minimise the impact on these fantastic little fellas. 

(Extracted from http://www.bloomingandbold.blogspot.com.au)

Now most people who think about top-soil automatically think of the wider rural landscapes, but most principles which apply with respect to agriculture and forestry, and land-management generally do apply in the urban context, too, as we see throughout my blog mentioned above.  I also hope this little blogpost shows how we can get our creative juices flowing and how really anything we can think of in the natural world, including something as dull as top-soil could be used in a potentially evocative and memorable way ... eco-creativity really knows no bounds. 

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