Healthy soil means hungry soil. With proper management, the ground beneath your crops should teem with millions of tiny lifeforms—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms—all busy transferring nutrients, eating and decomposing organic material through nutrient cycling in processes that help plants thrive. So how do you measure the biological activity of your soil? Enter the “Soil Your Undies” test. Simply bury a pair of white, 100% cotton undies beneath your soil, come back two months later and dig them up. Sterile, lifeless soil will keep your tighty-whities clean and intact whereas busy, organically thriving soil will eat away at your briefs, leaving nothing but an elastic strap!
HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS:
1) Bury a pair of underwear in your field, garden or pasture during the week of July 16th, 2017. Leave undisturbed. Must be new and 100% cotton; preferably white and organic. Documentation encouraged: post on social media with hashtag #soilmyundies and #aggames2017
2) Dig up your undies and bring them to this year’s Agrarian Games at the Petaluma Fairgrounds on September 16 by at least 3pm. (Or provide the specimen to an official Farmers Guild / CAFF representative in advance. Contact us here.)
3) Our Climate Smart Farming Specialist will be on hand to discuss soil health, explain how microbiology fits into our fight against climate change and of course… pick a winner: the most tattered pair.