In 2011, I took a course at McGill in Organic Soil Fertilization where I learned that my yard’s soil type is loamy clay (with a lot of rocks in it – I actually look forward to digging them out and collecting them on the surface, if they’re bigger than a quail egg). I also learned that soil microfauna, like isopod “pill bugs,” centipedes, and worms, are essential for soil fertility. They are our little decomposer friends, grazing on bacteria, fungus, carbon sources, and occasionally on each other.

Dirt is a living mass, it’s not supposed to be sterile.

A couple of years ago, I reconfigured the deck as I was changing the set up of the garden. As I lifted various parts of the deck, I noticed the soil was quite moist and rich, sheltered from the heat.

Soil macrofauna, like rodents, amphibians, and others who burrow to make nests and passageways, are soil engineers. They are particularly responsible for distribution of seeds and nutrients.

Over the years, the soil underneath my back deck has been a home to ground-dwelling bees, a rat or two, and a family of skunks. I don’t mind the wildlife, especially the skunk, who is a good neighbour, apart from eating my lilies. (A tip for dealing with the skunk’s latrine: throw down some dolomite lime). And their presence does the soil itself some good. It had been tunnelled, turned, and fertilized by all the species of animals I know and don’t know.

The state of Victoria in Australia has a good guide to soil health here.

Soil remediation in an urban context

In 2010, I participated in the École d’été sur agriculture urbaine, when I asked Eric Duchemin, Associate Professor of Science and the Environment at UQAM, some questions about remediating landscapes and urban soil and returning it to primary use — that is, forestry and agriculture.