From heavy clay to a living system

21 augustus 2025

The soil is full of valuable minerals, but not all nutrients are immediately available to plants. That’s where fungi play a key role: they transform minerals into forms that plants can actually absorb. When we feed the soil – and therefore the fungi – we indirectly feed the plant as well. Focusing only on the plant itself by adding (artificial) fertilizer gives a temporary growth boost, but impoverishes soil life and eventually compacts the ground.

The Soil as a Sponge

A healthy soil should function like a sponge: loose layers, full of air and life, supported by fungi, bacteria, worms, and insects. In many cases, however, soil has become compacted and turned into a hard, impenetrable mass. There is little life left, plants struggle to root, and water no longer penetrates the ground.
Mulching – repeatedly adding organic material – is a simple and effective way to restore this. Each layer feeds the soil life, which makes the structure airy again and allows plants to access nutrients naturally. The beauty of this process is that we don’t need to analyze in detail which minerals are missing. With the right input, the earth is wise enough to assemble a complete nutrient package on its own.
“Understand the simplicity in life, but trust the complexity.” (Jos Willemsen)

Intervening in Summer

Pruning in summer can support this process. If you wait until autumn, most nutrients will already have left the leaves; in winter, there is little demand for nutrients at all. Pruning in summer, however, provides young, vital greenery, rich in energy. We lay this material on the ground as mulch, feeding the plants exactly in their growing season, when they need nutrients the most. The soil life processes this input and gives plants an enormous growth boost.

In this way, we mimic an ancient system. Long ago, large grazers such as mammoths carried out this role: they ate young shoots and branches and returned nutrients to the soil through their dung. Now that these animals are gone, we can take over part of their role by actively intervening. This way, the soil once again becomes a sponge – and more and more nature can emerge.