Down to earth
Jordans’ farmers make a conscious effort to promote biodiversity above and below ground – and it’s surprisingly simple to do the same in your garden
Soil is more than just dirt. It’s essential in sequestering carbon and helping to grow the food we need to survive. On a smaller scale, healthy soil can be key to unlocking your garden’s full potential – and the amount of wildlife that occupies it. Healthy soil is bursting with a whole host of species: bacteria, bugs, fungi and worms. In fact, it’s said there are billions of living organisms in just a single tablespoon of soil!
These creatures are all part of the natural food chain in your garden, but also improve the growth of your plants. Jordans Cereals knows just how important it is to keep soil healthy, not only because it helps to produce delicious oats, but also because it helps our wildlife to thrive.
The Jordans way
As part of the Jordans Farm Partnership, Jordans’ farmers endeavour to dedicate at least 10% of their land to nature. They work with a local
Wildlife Trust advisor to create a bespoke plan for the wildlife on their patch, and with Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) to look after the soil and promote biodiversity below ground.
And, as well as returning some crop residue to the field to act as a green fertiliser, the farmers also use manure to fertilise the soil, and legumes to add nitrogen back into it. They make a conscious effort to plant cover crops that produce high biomass too, helping to improve soil structure by increasing organic matter.
Making it happen
“Our soil is where we start. That’s tremendously important to us,” says Guy Tucker, who grows Jordans oats on his farm in Hertfordshire. “We’re trying to increase [soil] organic matter without livestock. As an alternative, we’re trying not to bail our straw. While that’s a saleable commodity, we forego that income to chop it and put it back in the ground. We’re also growing cover crops rotationally – which are again incorporated back into the ground to try and rebuild organic matter levels.”