“There is a whole world of living organisms under the soil,” said Aaron Gabriel, an agronomy educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Hudson Falls. “There is an ecosystem; there are all kinds of things we don’t see.”

Scientists now know that plants talk to each other in an elaborate communication network that Kathryn Morris, a biologist at Xavier University in Cincinnati, said she has eavesdropped on. It is routed underground on chemical pathways carried by fungus.

And that’s why as spring approaches and gardening plans begin, it’s important to take care of the soil and feed these organisms with organic matter, like compost or last fall’s leaves before planting, Gabriel said.

“You have to be careful when tilling the soil — if it smears in your hands it is too wet,” he said, adding that walking on wet soil also damages it. “When it is wet, the soil is weak and doesn’t hold the structure. You can mash it down by walking on it and you lose the pore space.”

Gabriel said that raking dried leaves and other debris to the side when the sun is out can help dry the soil.

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