Soil is alive, and not just in the metaphysical sense. It inhales and exhales, procreates, digests, and constantly changes temperature... And like us, soil contains a lot of tiny living creatures—a complex community of bacteria, microbes, fungi, worms, grubs, bugs, and slugs... One teaspoon of the good black stuff has been said to contain more than a million living organisms, though scientists now consider even this figure far too conservative—it’s well over a billion. Soil is literally teeming with life.
Soil covers itself. On any bare patch, a green carpet of plants and weeds sprouts immediately, protecting the earth from the elements. Whispers of grass, poking their way out of sidewalk cracks, are evidence that even urban soil, sheathed in concrete, hankers for protection.
Dan Baber
