World Soil Day

This world soil day, we are celebrating our island earth and are striving for a bright future of regenerative land management that starts from the ground up. Head of Estate and Gardens Al Moore has a vision for Tresco's soil and, working alongside Andrew Lawson at Tresco Abbey Garden and Ruth and Graham Eggins at Tresco Farm, he aims to put the ground at the forefront and preserve our earth in every way we can.

"Historically, Tresco’s soil has worked hard," says Al. "Narcissi and potatoes were the main crops on Tresco for generations. Both require regular cultivation and both are hungry crops. With narcissi in particular, it is hard now to imagine how profoundly the island’s agriculture and landscape was dominated by this one crop for nearly a century. The narcissi trade for Scilly was an extraordinary period in the islands’ agricultural history. By the early 1900s, every spare strip of soil had been given over to flowers. With three sailings of 35,000 bunches a week, with 12 stems per bunch, that was not far off one and a half million stems leaving Scilly in seven days."

"If the past two hundred years of farming can be characterised by a focus on soil chemistry, the past few decades have seen a shift in emphasis towards soil biology. Put simply, the difference is looking at soil as an ecology rather than a useful way of holding plants in place, while they are fed and watered. This focus on soil biology is now at the forefront of how we approach farming and the land on Tresco."

"Soil is a complex ecosystem, built from organic matter, minerals, air and water and populated by more than half of all species on the planet. Where the soil biology can come unstuck is with the addition of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides, disrupting the ecological balance. Nutrients are leached out of the soil and the soil fauna dwindles. Disturb the soil with regular cultivation and the networks of fungi are broken. With all this in mind, looking ahead to Tresco’s future land management principals, the first step is understanding that everything depends on the soil. Our approach to producing food will be based on that biological understanding of soil."

Also determined to do his bit is Head Gardener at Tresco Abbey Gardens Andrew Lawson.

"To a large degree we are a no dig garden," says Andrew Lawson. "Apart from stump removal, we like to mulch with our own compost, especially in the lower two terraces away from the Proteaceae family which prefer the poorer soils of the upper terraces."

"We pride ourselves with composting about 80% of all our garden waste and also recycle about 90% of the food waste produced on the island. Anything we can add to the poor sandy soil is a help so in the winter months we add sea weed collected from the high tide mark and spread it as a mulch across the vegetable garden - it’s a big job with 25 ton bags a year being collected."

Also thinking about soil at every waking moment are farming duo Graham and Ruth Eggins, who have just moved to Tresco and have taken on the challenge of reinvigorating the farm.

The market garden will be created using no-dig beds, complete with cardboard, compost and seaweed.

“No-dig keeps the nitrogen in the ground and the soil structure intact,” explains Ruth. “The bug life is insane; it’s teeming with insects and fungi. You can literally see the soil is healthier.”

What's more, not wanting to waste any material that comes their way, Ruth and Graham are using the old ropes from Scillonian lll! When you next visit Tresco, keep an eye out for them and their inventive use...

"Graham and Ruth Eggins will be growing delicious food on Tresco, using soil-based systems, respecting ecology, both above and below the ground," says Al.

"In doing so, the fields will be sequestering carbon and providing biodiverse habitat and forage. In the years to come we will be able to enjoy the literal fruits of their labours, not least strawberries but also beef, eggs and a range of other fruit and vegetables…maybe even bacon and sausages too!"

It is clear that the future of Tresco's soil is bright.