Why Ideal Soil isn't Necessary if You Start a Permaculture Farm?

It's quite normal for some parts of the soil to not let water through very well, which can cause puddles or runoff when it rains a lot. This can also happen when soil gets compacted from activities like tilling, overgrazing or deforestation. So does it mean you have a big problem if you have sandy soil that lets water to run off too quickly or if you have heavy clay soil that is too compacted and doesn't infiltrate much water? Does it mean you have to move somewhere else where the soil is nicer? Well, in gardening we hear that the best soil is loam, so the perfect mix of sand, clay and silt. But to answer this question, let's look again at the information we've learned. We know that hydraulic conductivity matters. What also matters is the arrangement of soil particles. What's important is that channels between the pores can form naturally as soil particles align or through biological activities like soil shrinking and swelling and when humans interact with the soil. But fortunately, this is not the full story about water movement in soil. You see, the roots of plants, both big and small, shape the soil by pushing through it and creating new paths. When old root hairs die, they leave gaps and organic material for other living things to use as food. So substances released by plants, fungi and microorganisms help stick soil particles together, giving healthy soils a crumbly structure. So insects like ants and termites as well as worms also play a big role in shaping the soil. So the more vegetation, organic matter, insects and microorganisms, the better. It's because these soils allow water to soak in and can hold on to moisture, making it available for biological processes. So if soil conditions on your land are less than ideal, you don't have to move anywhere or buy the soil because you can vastly improve the soil, whether it's sandy or clay, simply by adding organic matter and planting appropriate plants. But just as we can improve the soil year after year by applying sustainable gardening techniques, we can also degrade the soil. For example, soil can get compacted in various ways. For instance, too much grazing by animals can squish the soil and remove plant cover when the soil is bare. It's vulnerable to erosion that forms crusts on its surface, and this results in water puddling when it rains. And deforestation or clearing trees also strips the land, creating crusts that increase runoff and puddling while reducing water absorption. And in tropical areas, this can cut soil's ability to let water through by 50%. That's why agricultural practices developed in Western world kill the soils in tropics much faster. We'll talk about sustainable land practices in tropics in another webinar, by the way. So tilling or ploughing the soil breaks its crumb-like structure, making it harder for water to soak in. And some soils might show an initial increase in water absorption after ploughing. But over time, rain breaks down the soil particles forming crusts and it reduces water absorption. So let's talk about plants for a brief moment. Having plants on the soil is like having a good cover. It prevents soil crusts that can stop water from getting in. And even though some water evaporates from plants, the soil stays healthy and water is still available for living things. Without any cover, the soil structure can be damaged and water is more likely to evaporate. That's why it's so important to look at all aspects of land management holistically. It's not enough that we fix erosion or increase water storage. It's about everything. Plant selection, placement, soil improvement in terms of structure and fertility. And that's why farms designed in a permaculture way avoid or diminish the problems associated with the land.