A lot of electric vehicles suffer from performance anxiety. That is to say, they are green and clean, but not very mean, the Tesla Roadster being a notable exception. Sometimes though, you just want to go fast. I had my first hybrid experience the other day, and while the Honda Insight I drove wasn’t the worst ride I’ve ever had, I could see myself getting very bored, very quickly with such an underpowered car (in my opinion, of course).

But I doubt I would get bored with the Zero DS, the latest electric motorcycle to be unveiled by Zero Motorcycles. Built from the ground up and utilizing the latest techniques and technology, this durable dirtbike promises off-road performance with streetwise manners. And it had better for the asking price $9,950.

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Soil is one of a gardener’s most important resources, and preserving its health and vitality one of our most crucial responsibilities. Nourish the soil sustainably and you’ll be rewarded with healthier plants and bountiful harvests for years to come.

I was reading National Geographic the other day, and came across an article on soil called “Our Good Earth.” The article discusses the problems facing soils all over the planet, and made me realize just how precious healthy soil really is. We’re losing topsoil rapidly as we consume more and more land to house and feed the ballooning human population. It can take nature over a thousand years to produce just one inch of soil, but erosion, compaction, and contamination can wipe it away much faster. This precious resource, the means to sustain and feed us and the entire planet, is often just treated like dirt. It’s time that changed. And it can start in your very own backyard.

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So I read with great interest this article from the New York Times about dirt, worms and the immune system. I’d heard of the hygiene hypothesis, where studies are showing that interactions with bacteria and viruses actually support the development of a strong immune system, and lessen the likelihood of allergies and asthma. This hypothesis is gaining momentum. Apparently, exposures from birth on are helpful in development of the immune system (and perfectly natural– how many of you have seen your baby sucking on your shoe? Or mouthing your keys?).

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If you answered yes, then I am afraid you have been using a very, very DIRTY word. Yes, you have been using perhaps the worst four-letter word in the English agricultural vocabulary. You have been dissing, dismissing, and dirtying the good, clean, productive resource otherwise known as SOIL.

Or at least some folks would say you have.

This may seem like a trivial question of semantics: Is not “dirt” and “soil” the same thing? You know, the stuff you get under your fingernails and on your pants, the stuff you have to wash off your veggies and your kids. Who cares…dirt, soil, it all amounts to the same brown stuff, right?

Well, perhaps. But a great many mindful agriculturalists, gardeners, and other landlubbers (i.e., land lovers) will take the greatest offense if someone uses the word “dirt” to refer to soil, that complex earthy material in which living things grow and thrive and feed.

Discovery Education’s fun and interesting website The Dirt on Soil offers this very useful distinction:

Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet. Think of soil as a thin living skin that covers the land. It goes down into the ground just a short way. Even the most fertile topsoil is only a foot or so deep. Soil is more than rock particles. It includes all the living things and the materials they make or change.1

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You, too, may find it rather intriguing to that the book of Genesis states that the origin of Man is the “dust of the ground” or “clay” (in other translations). Well, science has long shown that, chemically, human body is by far more “water” than “earth”. Nevertheless, there’s no arguing that a special, inherent relationship exists between us and the soil around us.

Ask any child in any sandbox. Ask any one of the near 3 billion mud-house dwellers scattered all over the globe. Imagine – in these modern days of hi-tech industrialized materials, engineered composites and computerized “smart homes”, an estimated 50% of the world’s population live in structures built, primarily and simply, of earth!

A while back I had the enlightening opportunity to –almost literally– stumble upon David Renov, the Israel-based environmental architect at one of our Northern Galilee beaches. Renov was enthusiastically demonstrating what mud (yes, mud) can do to young human’s soul. He had studied building Earthships in New Mexico, and in Israel is involved in the embryonic Green Building movement. The squealing pre-schoolers attending his seaside workshop were filthy and delighted. And I was hooked. I just had to get my hands dirty.

Since I wasn’t ready to build full-scale structures, Renov suggested I start learning by making small-scale mud structures: Mud Ovens.

Turns out that even for a small project there’s lots of technical knowledge to ingest, before one can build with mud. I began reading up on things like micrometer sized dirt particles, clay percentages in soil mixtures, flocculation and structural strengths and weaknesses. But the real learning began when I got my hands dirty! I learned how to make rock-solid dry stone bases, using natural stones with no shaping or cementing. Its amazing how stable structures can be, relaying on forces of gravity alone! I learned how to whip up the ideal clay (~25-30%) and sand (70-75%) and water recipe, mixed with bare feet – my own and those of the neighborhood kids. And I mastered the art of building up layers of damp earth to form the oven cavity. I practiced, making perfect, pregnancy-belly-shaped domes, smooth and sensuous. And after not to long, I was making simple, beautiful mud-n-stone ovens!

Environmental construction is gaining popularity all over the place. Authorities, organizations around the world are creating initiatives, promoting the use of sustainable materials and methods, formalizing standards and regulations. Small and large contractors are increasingly building environmentally friendly structures both for homes and for public uses. In Europe, a huge effort has been put into the “GreenBuilding Programme” (and http://www.eu-greenbuilding.org). In the USA, the EPA’s Green Buildings project provides a wealth of resources.

Meanwhile, if you want to get started today, use your bare hands (and feet): Get some local dirt and begin can having fun making a mud oven…and baking delicious and healthy bread in it!

There are lot's of places on the web where you can read more about making Mud Ovens. Here's a sampling:

Andy & Julia's Gallery :: Building a Cob Oven

City Farmer's Cob Oven

Greg's Earth Oven (also the source of the photo above)