Unlike most other crops, Hemp actually improves the soil in which it is planted. We call this being a Dirt-Luver, and like it so much, we printed it on a (clean) Rood T-Shirt.
Science calls it Phytoremediation; a process of using living plants to clean up soil by absorbing toxins and re-releasing them as beneficial natural substances that supply much needed nutrients to microorganisms in the earth. A simple tactic that helps stabilize and regenerate tired lands. Notable phytoremediation plants include: Pennygrass, Pigweed, and mustard. But hemp is the boss. The term ‘Phytoremediation’ was in fact coined by Ilya Raskin, one of the Scientists charged with cleaning up the Chernobyl disaster, and what plant did he swear by? Yes, you guessed it… Hemp has been cleaning up Northern Ukraine ever since.
Hemp has a deep root system, has a favourable influence on the soil structure, and curtails the presence of nematodes and fungi. After cultivation, the soil is left in optimum condition due to the complete weed suppression following the high shading capacity of hemp. A study by Bócsa and Karus (1998) reports 10–20% higher wheat yields after the cultivation of hemp. Rolling Stone magazine has called Hemp’s ability to improve soil, whilst also creating a large amount of useful biomass a ‘sweet spot’ in potential greener futures, whilst the Rodale Institute says “hemp grows quickly and performs well if not better than other cover crops. A resilient plant, and has potential for bioremediation, and bee’s love it!”
Hemp roots are a whopping 9ft long. And it’s all in the roots. They grow fast, probe deep, pull out the bad, and fix up the top. According to Richard P. Wool in his article on Bio-based Polymers, hemps deep root system ‘has a favorable influence on the soil structure and curtails the presence of nematodes and fungi - leaving soil at its optimum after cultivation.’ 95% of the world's food is grown in topsoil, and according to European parliament in the last 150 years (due to intensive farming and overdosing on chemicals) we have eradicated and eroded over half of it! Soil management is a serious subject, and while recent re-wilding efforts have helped, hemp can offer another benefit in that it can be used in crop rotation as a sustainable stop-gap for other more intense relationships.
Cotton as the competition is not sustainable. It is an incredibly demanding crop that requires vast amounts of water, land and pesticides in order to grow good. The white fluff accounts for fifty percent of pesticides used globally per annum; an almost incomprehensible amount of chemicals that’s sprayed into fields across the world. Soil is not invincible, and such a hammering takes its toll. Cotton farming of this sort will, by 2076, rid top soils of their nutrients and leave behind a barren waste land incapable of producing a single potato.
