To get people thinking about the importance of soil microorganisms and how to support healthier soils, the Berea Urban Farm invites Berea gardeners to Soil Your Briefs.

 

A teaspoon of healthy garden soil contains more than 10,000 species, more than 1 billion individual organisms, and yards of fungal filaments. 

 

These microorganisms make nutrients available to plants and protect roots from disease organisms. In return, plants release compounds from their roots that feed the soil life. Healthy soil = healthy plants.

 

A simple and fun way to get a feeling for the biological activity of your soil is to bury a pair of cotton briefs. The more numerous, diverse and active the organisms, the faster the briefs will decompose.

 

Register for the Soil Your Briefs project and we will send you a pair of all-cotton BUF Briefs. Everyone in the project will bury their briefs on or about April 15, and dig them up approximately two months later. Then you take a photo of the briefs and email it along with a brief description of the plot in which they were buried to Richard@sustainableberea.org. All photos will be published in the fall 2022 issue of Ag Mag, and you can see how your briefs/soil compare to others throughout the city.

 

Full instructions will be sent with your pair of briefs.

 

Yes, I want to soil my briefs!