Dear Ladles
We’re talking all about compost this week and thought it would be good to give a reminder about the utility of this magical organic matter, particularly within the context of the weather conditions we’ve been experiencing over the past few months – and the challenges that are likely to present themselves in the months to come.
It’s no secret that we’ve had an extremely dry and warm winter here in the Western Cape, and seem to have missed much of the winter rainfall we expect each year. This is by no means a coincidence, we have the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to hold accountable for this. Our last run-in with this unique and rare phenomenon, which is more commonly known as simply ‘El Niño’, was during the province’s last major drought over the 2015-2017 period – a time of immense stress, uncertainty and concern over potentially reaching the rumoured ‘Day Zero’.
El Niño can be described as a dramatic warming and cooling of ocean temperatures that disrupt typical weather patterns, in turn causing flooding and drought in numerous different regions across the world. The Cape falls under a high risk drought zone, and experiences significant decreases in rainfall during El Niño’s course of action.
What does all of this mean for us in the near future? Well, Feed the Soil works with farmers in the Cape Flats, whose circumstances are already considerably challenging, and such a disruption in our usual cycles of weather patterns can prove to be significantly compromising. Gardens can take a significant toll if they don’t receive sufficient rainfall, and the already dry Cape Flats soil can dry up even further and erode rapidly. This can, however, be prevented if the soil receives enough care during this rough, dry season.
This is where you come in. Your buckets of food waste that we use to create the rich, nourishing compost that we provide our farmers with can help out in saving the day for a lot of these vulnerable plots of land. This nutrient-dense, deeply rich compost can bind loose and sandy soil, helping it retain the moisture from the water that it does receive for longer, and hence – helps our crops grow despite the circumstances. Effectively acting like a sponge, it also helps reduce evaporation which can drain the soil of all its nutrients. With such fortified soil, farmers won’t be required to water nearly as much as if they weren’t receiving the compost that we provide them with – and suffer the potentially more severe consequences of El Niño.
This is where you come in. Your buckets of food waste that we use to create the rich, nourishing compost that we provide our farmers with can help out in saving the day for a lot of these vulnerable plots of land. This nutrient-dense, deeply rich compost can bind loose and sandy soil, helping it retain the moisture from the water that it does receive for longer, and hence – helps our crops grow despite the circumstances. Effectively acting like a sponge, it also helps reduce evaporation which can drain the soil of all its nutrients. With such fortified soil, farmers won’t be required to water nearly as much as if they weren’t receiving the compost that we provide them with – and suffer the potentially more severe consequences of El Niño.
So we thank you! For your ongoing support and contribution to local regenerative agriculture. Together, we’ll keep many gardens alive this Summer and many faces smiling through the heat.
Stay rooted,
Feed the Soil team 💚
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