Roots
Episode 2: The plant’s perspective
“The scorecard for health is your plant.”
Why plant health drives soil health, not just the other way round, and what’s really happening around the root.
The big idea
Put a plant in there.
Balancing the soil test isn’t the same thing as health. The plant has a big say underground, as well as above it.
What the plant feeds the soil
A plant sends sugars down through its roots to the life around them, and that life feeds minerals back. Look after the plant and you’re feeding the soil at the same time.
“If you want your soil to change, you got to put a plant in there.”
That’s why the scorecard is the plant. The soil report estimates what’s on offer; the crop tells you whether it’s getting it.
What’s inside
Four parts, about an hour.
Watch it in one sitting, or a part between jobs. Each one flows into the next.
After this one, you’ll…
- read health from the crop, not just the soil report
- explain what a plant feeds the soil, and what comes back
- see why a balanced soil test isn’t the same thing as health
- 0–15 min
The plant is the scorecard
Reading health from the crop, not just the soil report.
- 15–30 min
Soil health follows plant health
Why balancing soil chemistry isn’t the same thing as health.
- 30–45 min
Around the root
What the plant feeds the soil, and what the soil feeds back.
- 45–60 min
Put a plant in there
If you want your soil to change, grow something in it.
Take it further
Where this episode leads.
The course is the start. Each episode opens onto Steve’s talks, the learning hub, and his work on farms.
From the Plant’s Perspective
One plant, eight episodes.
Hear when episode one is out.
One note when it’s ready, and nothing else.