For all intents and purposes, soil equals health.
Without a healthy soil as a base, plants grown on
weakened soil are, in and of themselves,
considerably weakened in their nutritive content
and thus those consuming the plants are equally weakened in their general health.
And yet, our modern soils are alarmingly lacking in nutrients.
The Beginning
Originally farmers used crop rotation and let the fields lie fallow to recoup one year
of every seven. The only fertilizer that was used was animal manure from grazers,
browsers or scavengers such as poultry and even pigs who even "plowed" and
scratched up the soil while foraging and thus aerating it. Some kitchen gardens
also added all kitchen waste such as is provided with compost. But most of that
changed in the early 20th century.
It is interesting to note that current chemical fertilization methods began with
marketing stockpiles of gunpowder (phosphates) left over from WWI and
anhydrous ammonia developed to harden jungle soil in the South Pacific into
runways for WWII bombers. Land grant universities tend to promote chemical use
because fertilizer and pesticide conglomerates are major fiscal benefactors.
However, scientists are discovering cumulative side-effects to such an approach.
Soil Fertilizers
It has been noted that just two years of heavy nitrogen application with no
addition of organic matter, that soil can become so hardened and compacted, that
farmers are forced to use rippers and bigger, more expensive tractors to break up
resultant clumps. Ultimately, more is required to effect less.
The use of NPK fertilizers is heavy enough that the EPA is finding that in some
areas, nitrogen runof from fields is actually higher than the amount applied that
season. In reality, those fields have reached nitrogen saturation which destroys
humus (natural soil and it's inhabitants which are needed for healthy soil) and
creates severe nutrient imbalances.
The nitrates that make their way into food, are converted by intestinal bacteria
into dangerous nitrites. The elderly, babies, and those on antacids do not have
enough stomach acids to kill the bacteria and so suffer from nitrosis or nitrogen
poisoning. This in turn causes meth-hemoglobinemia which is a reduced oxygen-
carrying capacity of the blood. Not only dangerous to humans, pregnant cattle
and horses fed high nitrogen feeds can miscarry due to the lack of blood oxygen
and the binding of Vit A so necessary for mineral usage.
We ourselves experienced this one year when we inadvertently fed high-nitrogen
hay (unfertilized but contaminated by high-nitrogen irrigation runoff from other
fields) and lost 3 horse fetuses. The maximum contaminant level for nitrate-
nitrogen in public water is 10 ppm.
Herbicides & Pesticides
In reality, NPK is rarely used alone but rather in conjunction with herbicides and
pesticides necessary to quell opportunistic attacks on relatively weak plants which
grow fast and green but have little strength or nutritive value. Such chemicals,
especially the carbamate insecticides and triazene herbicides have been shown in a
5-year study headed by Dr. Warren Porter of the University of Wisconsin, to enact
with nitrates thus forming substances which have "measurable detrimental effects"
on the nervous, immune and endocrine systems (Pesticides & Aggression by Peter
Montague, www.rachel.org).
It is Dr. Prter's conclusion that: "The usage [of carbamate insecticides and
triazene herbicides] has continued to climb. There's an enormous amount of
[chemicals being used] right now. There was a recent study that examined the
urine of people across the country, [asking] if people are being exposed. On
average, anywhere from five to seven compounds were being excreted. There's a
great deal of exposure to the general populace. And yes, he toxicities have
definitely changed being measured in the parts-per-trillion range. I would point out
that fetuses are sensitive to chemicals in the parts per quadrillion range."
Unfortunately, all these chemicals, and then some, also leach into formerly potable
water, including wells. A recent 2 year study done by Colorado State University
was reported on by the Denver Post [01/20/05 by Theo Stein]. The study's co-
author, Lori Sprague, said "There's the potential for these chemicals to enter
water sources wherever there's human activity." The study concluded that water
far from known sources now contained measurable amounts of not only
agricultural chemicals but also antibiotics, hormones, detergents and the like.
Mineral Loss
Another side to modern agricultural methods is the loss of soil mineralization. If
minerals are not within the soils themselves, there is no possibility of them being
contained within crops grown on those soils. Minerals, especially all trace minerals,
are vital for every single function within living creatures.
Author Rex Ewing points out from an equine standpoint in Beyond the Hay Days,
that "Farmers fertilize with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and occasionally
calcium, but that leaves 18-20 minerals essential to horses (and horsemen) that
are not being returned to the ground...The demineralization of our soil is not the
slow process we might imagine. Tests done on dehydrated alfalfa meal by the
National Academy of Sciences between 1973 and 1981 yielded some disturbing
results. Copper dropped from 11.2 ppm down to 9.5 ppm during that period. Iron
went from 330 ppm to 270 ppm, and zinc fell from 21.5 ppm to 19.4 ppm."
In looking at these figures almost thirty years later, it would appear that vital
system functions are deleteriously affected at the very time when we are being
assaulted by more and more chemicals which strain our bodies to their utmost
and beyond.
What to do
We need to return to traditional farming methods and leave most of these recent
fads behind. Healthy soil is actually an organism containing up to 2 tons of living
beings per acre. Crops grown in healthy soils are stronger and do not put out the
chemical "stress indicators" that draw insects to them. This in turn can eliminate
for massive amounts of insecticides. Proper mulching, rotation, and companion
planting eliminate even more unwanted insects while dramatically reducing the
need for massive amounts of herbicides. We need to let the earth lie fallow and
rest every few years and provide it with proper food like composted vegetation
and animal matter. We need to tread the ground with a light foot and deep
respect for it is our mother in truth.
From the standpoint of economics, not only is organically grown food more
healthful for both consumers and the soil itself, but researchers have found that
organic farming can yield up to three times the amount of food in developing
countries as what's grown by conventional methods. And, on the same-sized plot
of land.
To learn more about what constitutes a truly healthy soil, visit www.acresusa.com.
And for the very best balanced fertilizers, visit my page on Dynamite Soil.
Without a healthy soil as a base, plants grown on
weakened soil are, in and of themselves,
considerably weakened in their nutritive content
and thus those consuming the plants are equally weakened in their general health.
And yet, our modern soils are alarmingly lacking in nutrients.
The Beginning
Originally farmers used crop rotation and let the fields lie fallow to recoup one year
of every seven. The only fertilizer that was used was animal manure from grazers,
browsers or scavengers such as poultry and even pigs who even "plowed" and
scratched up the soil while foraging and thus aerating it. Some kitchen gardens
also added all kitchen waste such as is provided with compost. But most of that
changed in the early 20th century.
It is interesting to note that current chemical fertilization methods began with
marketing stockpiles of gunpowder (phosphates) left over from WWI and
anhydrous ammonia developed to harden jungle soil in the South Pacific into
runways for WWII bombers. Land grant universities tend to promote chemical use
because fertilizer and pesticide conglomerates are major fiscal benefactors.
However, scientists are discovering cumulative side-effects to such an approach.
Soil Fertilizers
It has been noted that just two years of heavy nitrogen application with no
addition of organic matter, that soil can become so hardened and compacted, that
farmers are forced to use rippers and bigger, more expensive tractors to break up
resultant clumps. Ultimately, more is required to effect less.
The use of NPK fertilizers is heavy enough that the EPA is finding that in some
areas, nitrogen runof from fields is actually higher than the amount applied that
season. In reality, those fields have reached nitrogen saturation which destroys
humus (natural soil and it's inhabitants which are needed for healthy soil) and
creates severe nutrient imbalances.
The nitrates that make their way into food, are converted by intestinal bacteria
into dangerous nitrites. The elderly, babies, and those on antacids do not have
enough stomach acids to kill the bacteria and so suffer from nitrosis or nitrogen
poisoning. This in turn causes meth-hemoglobinemia which is a reduced oxygen-
carrying capacity of the blood. Not only dangerous to humans, pregnant cattle
and horses fed high nitrogen feeds can miscarry due to the lack of blood oxygen
and the binding of Vit A so necessary for mineral usage.
We ourselves experienced this one year when we inadvertently fed high-nitrogen
hay (unfertilized but contaminated by high-nitrogen irrigation runoff from other
fields) and lost 3 horse fetuses. The maximum contaminant level for nitrate-
nitrogen in public water is 10 ppm.
Herbicides & Pesticides
In reality, NPK is rarely used alone but rather in conjunction with herbicides and
pesticides necessary to quell opportunistic attacks on relatively weak plants which
grow fast and green but have little strength or nutritive value. Such chemicals,
especially the carbamate insecticides and triazene herbicides have been shown in a
5-year study headed by Dr. Warren Porter of the University of Wisconsin, to enact
with nitrates thus forming substances which have "measurable detrimental effects"
on the nervous, immune and endocrine systems (Pesticides & Aggression by Peter
Montague, www.rachel.org).
It is Dr. Prter's conclusion that: "The usage [of carbamate insecticides and
triazene herbicides] has continued to climb. There's an enormous amount of
[chemicals being used] right now. There was a recent study that examined the
urine of people across the country, [asking] if people are being exposed. On
average, anywhere from five to seven compounds were being excreted. There's a
great deal of exposure to the general populace. And yes, he toxicities have
definitely changed being measured in the parts-per-trillion range. I would point out
that fetuses are sensitive to chemicals in the parts per quadrillion range."
Unfortunately, all these chemicals, and then some, also leach into formerly potable
water, including wells. A recent 2 year study done by Colorado State University
was reported on by the Denver Post [01/20/05 by Theo Stein]. The study's co-
author, Lori Sprague, said "There's the potential for these chemicals to enter
water sources wherever there's human activity." The study concluded that water
far from known sources now contained measurable amounts of not only
agricultural chemicals but also antibiotics, hormones, detergents and the like.
Mineral Loss
Another side to modern agricultural methods is the loss of soil mineralization. If
minerals are not within the soils themselves, there is no possibility of them being
contained within crops grown on those soils. Minerals, especially all trace minerals,
are vital for every single function within living creatures.
Author Rex Ewing points out from an equine standpoint in Beyond the Hay Days,
that "Farmers fertilize with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and occasionally
calcium, but that leaves 18-20 minerals essential to horses (and horsemen) that
are not being returned to the ground...The demineralization of our soil is not the
slow process we might imagine. Tests done on dehydrated alfalfa meal by the
National Academy of Sciences between 1973 and 1981 yielded some disturbing
results. Copper dropped from 11.2 ppm down to 9.5 ppm during that period. Iron
went from 330 ppm to 270 ppm, and zinc fell from 21.5 ppm to 19.4 ppm."
In looking at these figures almost thirty years later, it would appear that vital
system functions are deleteriously affected at the very time when we are being
assaulted by more and more chemicals which strain our bodies to their utmost
and beyond.
What to do
We need to return to traditional farming methods and leave most of these recent
fads behind. Healthy soil is actually an organism containing up to 2 tons of living
beings per acre. Crops grown in healthy soils are stronger and do not put out the
chemical "stress indicators" that draw insects to them. This in turn can eliminate
for massive amounts of insecticides. Proper mulching, rotation, and companion
planting eliminate even more unwanted insects while dramatically reducing the
need for massive amounts of herbicides. We need to let the earth lie fallow and
rest every few years and provide it with proper food like composted vegetation
and animal matter. We need to tread the ground with a light foot and deep
respect for it is our mother in truth.
From the standpoint of economics, not only is organically grown food more
healthful for both consumers and the soil itself, but researchers have found that
organic farming can yield up to three times the amount of food in developing
countries as what's grown by conventional methods. And, on the same-sized plot
of land.
To learn more about what constitutes a truly healthy soil, visit www.acresusa.com.
And for the very best balanced fertilizers, visit my page on Dynamite Soil.
Tarryall.net
. . . a Guide for Living Energetically
. . . a Guide for Living Energetically
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Nutrition for Soils
| ". . . all animals indirectly from plants, and all plants get their food from the soil. Therefore, mineral-deficient soil may be one of the greatest original sources of disease in the world today. According to D.W. Cavanaugh, MD, of Cornell University, 'There is only one major disease and that is malnutrition. All ailments and afflictions to which we may fall heir are directly traceable to this major disease.' Simply stated, food crops grown on depleted soil produce malnourished bodies, and disease preys on malnourished bodies!" Mark Anderson & Bernard Jensen from Empty Harvest: Understanding the Link Between Our Food, Our Immunity, and Our Planet |
