A love story
In studying soil I have had many ‘aha’ moments but along with these new learnings, came a deep sense that I already knew all this. It makes me wonder, if all this knowledge sits deep in our DNA and we only have to remind ourselves its there.
When I teach, I now try to help others remember by using stories. Here is one of my favourites- the love story of soil and plants.
It is an important story and therefore inspires the January image in our 2026 calendar.
Our January image for our 2026 Health Soil Calendar.
This love story is powered by the sun through the process of photosynthesis. Maybe you remember it from school? Sunlight + CO2 + H2O go in and out comes O2 and glucose (or sugars). However, most photosynthesis stories skip the romance. They never mention where the sugar goes...
Where does the sugar go?
Simply put, the sugar is gifted to the soil through the roots. In return, the soil and all the life within it return the gift with nutrients. These two lovers constantly exchange sugar, nutrients and even messages.
1. Sugar goes to the soil through the roots. 2. Nutrients are returned. 3. Exchanges continually take place between the two.
Like all great loves, they help each other grow. The healthier the plant, the healthier the soil. If a farmer wants strong, nutritious (and therefore tasty) crops, they must care for this relationship. There are many ways to do this and on our farm this year, it has ended up looking like a lot of grasses or ‘weeds’.
Monsoon clouds over our grassy field.
Cover crops are excellent soil partners. They are grown between main crops to protect and feed the soil. We have been experimenting with cover crops for three years but this year our seeds failed.
It was hard to watch. We worried our soil would be bare for the monsoon. This would leave it exposed and impact the success of our future crops.
Empty soil is lonely and hungry!
Thankfully, nature stepped in. She covered the soil with a mix of plants. Visitors may see weeds, but we see a love story supported by the sun.
The calendar image for June.
Now monsoon has finished. we are covering our fields with tarps. This blocks off the sun and gives these lovers a little break. After a few weeks, we remove the tarps, air the soil, add amendments and continue the love story with crops our customers love.
Next monsoon, we will try cover cropping again. It will take us years to perfect. Caring for this relationship matters to everyone; healthier crops means healthier communities; healthier soils means secure food systems. But it is risky. It takes investment and each farmer needs time to find what works in their own context.
Farmers in many countries receive support for this transition period and we are now doing it here. We pay farmers a monthly stipend to support their experiments. Farmers like Pyae Wa in Naypyidaw lets the grasses grow around lime trees because he knows the soil is healthier covered. Farmers like Thant Zaw in Pindaya have seen higher yields after growing cover crops between his main crops.
Pyae Wa and Thant Zaw.
In our peer group last week, we shared strategies and learnt from each other. At the end, we shared the November calendar image - it shows farmers on a zoom call. It made us all smile.
We have regular sharing sessions on zoom with farmers.
I hope you remember this love story the next time you see weeds or bare soil. Check out the dashboards of farmers to learn more.
International friends can support our work by buying our 2026 Calendar and t-shirts here.
