Did you know soil microorganisms of all sizes and shapes need water, air, shelter, and care to function and thrive? Dr. Ashley Jernigan, assistant professor and director of Virginia Tech's Sustainable and Organic Vegetable Crops Production Lab, returns to talk with Jeff and Mary about what farmers and gardeners can do to encourage a hospitable habitat for soil microorganisms.

As a soil ecologist, Ashley recommends keeping track of your soil organic matter level and its aggregate stability, and how these soil health indicators compare to native biological systems. Soils, like people, need quality food in diverse and complex forms (compost, green manures, plant roots, etc.). Similarly, farmers and gardeners should avoid leaving the soil naked and bare. Being gentle and reducing the intensity of tillage is also key to maintaining a comfortable environment for soil critters and not disrupting the structures and networks that soil organisms establish.   

We would encourage our listeners to visit Andy Murray's A Chaos of Delight: Exploring Life in the Soil website and tour the gallery of photos of different soil microorganisms. 

As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning and to follow the four core soil health principles: 

1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends and allies; avoid bare fallows;
2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage as much as possible in your field or garden ;
3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity, soil structure, and life in the soil; and
4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, high-quality food, farm enterprises,  and livestock integration. 

To enjoy recent 4 The Soil blog posts and additional soil health resources, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/blog and https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. For questions about soil and water conservation practices, natural resource concerns, and soil health principles and practices to restore the life in your soil, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.  

4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.

Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.

To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website 4thesoil.org. Music used during today’s program is courtesy of the Flip Charts. All rights reserved. 4 the Soil: A Conversation is produced by On the...

How do you regenerate and bring back life to worn-out soils? Does your garden soil just fall apart in your hands? Dr. Ashley Jernigan, assistant professor and director of Virginia Tech's Sustainable and Organic Vegetable Crops Production Lab, in visiting with Jeff and Mary, advises doing your own test in your garden or crop field with a shovel.

As someone who enjoyed digging soil pits as a seven-year-old, Ashley recommends sampling to a six-inch depth to get a sense of your soil's tilth and aggregate stability. If the soil does not have a good, varied crumbly structure, the soil's organic matter content and aggregate stability may be low. Therefore, feed your soil and soil animals to feed your plants to start the biological journey and bring back the life in the soil.

If you have ever wondered what soil animals like springtails and soil mites look like, Dr. Jernigan developed a Soil Mesofauna: Who are They? resource guide to help. Ashley also highly recommends Andy Murray's Chaos of Delight: Exploring Life in the Soil website for wonderful photos and videos. 

As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning and to follow the four core soil health principles: 

1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends and allies;
2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage in your field or garden as much as possible;
3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity, soil structure, and life in the soil; and
4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, farm enterprises, and/or livestock integration.

More details about the Virginia Farm-to-Table Feast and Harvest Celebration scheduled for Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at On Sunny Slope Farm in Rockingham, Virginia, can be found at https://virginiafarmtotable.org/2025vaf2tharvestcelebration/

To enjoy recent 4 The Soil blog posts and additional soil health resources, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/blog and https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. For questions about soil and water conservation practices, natural resource concerns, and soil health principles and practices to restore the life in your soil, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.  

4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.

Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.

To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website Show more...