EDITORIAL
"Sometimes we tend to forget that not all the products we eat are from the supermarket, that they've had a life before being on the shelves - this life, like everything on this Earth, started in the ground , thanks to what is called biological activity ". This Friday, Fanny Agostini is interested in the biological activity of the soil thanks to the briefs, in her chronicle, Rendez-vous à la ferme on Europe 1.
To grow vegetables and plants, "it is not enough to plant a seed in the soil," says Fanny Agostini. It is necessary that this earth is active, that it tells a story. "This story is about the interaction between all the epigea species that live in the top layer of the soil: earthworms, insects, fungi, and bacteria that, although very different, complement each other. form a symbiotic whole, a kind of ecosymbiosis, "she explains. To these interactions must be added organic matter resulting from the decomposition of the living: leaves, barks of trees, animal waste, and sometimes even animals. This organic matter is the source of all the biochemical reactions that will take place between the living and the inert, and which will provide the soil with all its fertility.
Panty elastics resist biodegradation
Without this story - this biological activity - it is simply impossible to produce fruits, vegetables, plant trees or flowers. "Unfortunately, with all the chemical treatments that we impose on the soil to increase more and more production, we lose the essential, plowing the soil, we destroy these interactions, we bury life, and we will never be able to replace this balance so fragile, "laments Fanny Agostini.
In order to measure the biological activity of soils, the best technology is sometimes the simplest, the most popular, and in this case, one would even dare to say that "has some slip," she dares. "It's all about burying a pair of organic cotton panties about 10 cm from the surface and waiting 90 days before taking it out and observing its decomposition. is a panty that is used for this experiment and not any tissue, the answer lies in the elastics that compose it and are resistant to biodegradation.The more the pants are degraded quickly, the more the biological activity of the soil is intense and the latter is in good health, with only witnesses the elastics of the missing panties. "
Several initiatives of this type have already taken place in France
The origin of this test comes straight from Canada, where as early as 2015, farmers planted briefs. It was only a few years before this slip test germinated in other countries, especially in France. "In March of this year, we have for example been able to observe the Montpellier to indulge in the planting of panties: more than 150 of these were put in the ground to evaluate the quality of the parcels. the initiative of the Chamber of Agriculture and the Mixed Syndicate Garrigues Campagne, and has already inspired other regions to do the same, for example in Isère where an identical experiment took place and allowed to reveal a good biological activity in soils ", describes Fanny Agostini.
"This unique experience is attracting more and more farmers concerned with safeguarding the health of their soil, simply because it is very inexpensive and does not require extensive laboratory analysis: the results are visible at naked eye! "concludes Fanny Agostini. If you want to be interested in the biological activity of your garden or your kitchen garden, you will now know that a formidable tool, if it is organic, is hidden in your underwear drawer.