The Secret Life of Roots at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington this weekend.

Thanks to Suzanne Taylor for posting this photo on Facebook. Roots can break up nearly impenetrable soil so water and nutrients can percolate.  That’s one reason we plant cover crops in our community garden.  Soil stores carbon. Cover crops reduce need for fertilizer if you’re a conventional farmer (which we aren’t).  We use manure and mulch as well as cover crops.  Then we can drill down to plant seed, leaving the cover to prevent evaporation.