Nutrients for Plants
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#14: Signs of Spring
The first hints of spring are usually the birds looking for nesting sites and mates, and
the days getting longer.
The true harbingers of spring, however, are all the seed and nursery catalogs
“sprouting” in the mailbox. The difficulty though is in the details - so many choices - they
all look so good, promising something bigger, faster, brighter, earlier, hardier, tastier,
later, longer, etc. There is a lot of competition for a spot in the sun, and it gets more
crowded every year.
To get a seed catalog or to order online, click on one of the pictures below –
Wayside Gardens: Gardener's Supply: Park Seed:
The nursery and landscape industry will grow as baby boomers transition from salad
days into serious gardeners. Increased time, discretionary income, and a more
compelling interest in health and quality of life drive the demand for a “greener lifestyle”.
This greener lifestyle is a counterpoint to mainstream production agriculture, where the
trends focus on quantity over quality, and large corporations morph into multi-national
monoliths that determine prices and set the production standards. The recent “merger
mania” taking place throughout the agricultural economy threatens to consolidate
control of our basic food supply in the hands of a very few corporations looking for
market share and quarterly profits before social and environmental sustainability
concerns. These agribusiness giants are driving the small farmer off the landscape and
eliminating plant and food diversity from the farm and the supermarket.
The long-term prospects of this trend are disturbing, and regulatory oversight seems
arbitrary and compromised. Much of the rest of the world refuses to buy genetically
modified foods and seeds, forcing industry and the U.S. government to reassess the
patenting and fast track approval process for genetically modified organisms that they
have sold the American public as wholesome and safe.
What does all of this have to do with spring and seed catalogs? What is there to feel
good about here? It is that so many of the catalogs are marketing alternatives to the
prevailing corporate paradigm, and that this market is the fastest growing, greenest,
most sustainable, earth friendly and socially responsible segment of the economy.
We have a product line ideally positioned to provide real alternatives; the rise of the
“slow food” movement is a case in point. Slow food stresses quality over quantity and
heightened awareness of the interconnected relationships of the food chain. An
expanding awareness of how our food is produced, processed, and ultimately
consumed determines what and how we eat. Food serves to connect us with each
other, the earth, the cosmos, and ourselves. Food is, after all, just stored sunshine.
This is what led to the development of our mineral-rich plant food.
The plant food nourishes plants, but it also plays a larger role in building and
maintaining the matrix of life in the planet’s soils. Ordinary NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-
Potassium) fertilizers give quick results for plant growth with a few macronutrients, but
these mainstream products do little to establish long-term fertility in the biosphere. Only
recently discovered and popularized as the “crypto-biotic crust,” the unseen world of
soil microorganisms not only supports the growth of the higher plants, but serves as the
architecture that holds the soil together as a foundation for all that grows.
The importance of this cannot be overstated, since the soils are such a finite fraction of
the earth, take such a long time to accumulate, and are under ever-increasing pressure
to sustain the world’s population. The following resources are among the best at
articulating the subject in-depth:
Holistic Resource Management, is a book by Alan Savory, the founder of the
organization by the same name. Savory has written extensively on erosion following the
loss of biodiversity in ecosystems (and the effects move right up the food chain).
Exploring the Spectrum and Paramagnetism, by Phil Callahan, discuss the
electromagnetic potential of life, the parent material of the earth—rocks, and rock dust
in soils.
The Survival of Civilization, by John Hamaker and Don Weaver, takes a global look at
rock dust and the carbon cycle. This excellent work continues with “Remineralize The
Earth”, a networking newsletter for earth activists sharing information. This publication
is available from 152 South Street, Northhampton, MA 01060.
Secrets of the Soil, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, includes a good
discussion of both algae and rock dust (this book was written before our plant food was
developed).
Start with the Soil, by Grace Gershuny. The organic gardener's guide to improving
soil for higher yields, more beautiful flowers, and a healthy, easy-care garden.
Bread From Stones, by Julius Hensel. Written over one hundred years ago, this book
makes the case for the role of trace minerals in the health of humans and plants.
The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, a gold mine for understanding
the broader implications of agriculture, can be reached online at www.biodynamics.com,
or by mail at Building 1002B, Thoreau Center, The Presidio, PO Box 29135, San
Francisco, CA 94129-0135.
As you peruse your own stocks of seed catalogs in the spring, we hope that you will
pause and reflect on what some of these writers have to say on the subject of
producing our food.
As gardeners, we are cultivating more than just a row of vegetables; we are cultivating
a relationship with the earth herself. And to establish natural harmony we need to pay
attention to the smallest details as well as the large ideas. Everything is really
connected to everything else, and nowhere is this more apparent than in your garden.
the days getting longer.
The true harbingers of spring, however, are all the seed and nursery catalogs
“sprouting” in the mailbox. The difficulty though is in the details - so many choices - they
all look so good, promising something bigger, faster, brighter, earlier, hardier, tastier,
later, longer, etc. There is a lot of competition for a spot in the sun, and it gets more
crowded every year.
To get a seed catalog or to order online, click on one of the pictures below –
Wayside Gardens: Gardener's Supply: Park Seed:
The nursery and landscape industry will grow as baby boomers transition from salad
days into serious gardeners. Increased time, discretionary income, and a more
compelling interest in health and quality of life drive the demand for a “greener lifestyle”.
This greener lifestyle is a counterpoint to mainstream production agriculture, where the
trends focus on quantity over quality, and large corporations morph into multi-national
monoliths that determine prices and set the production standards. The recent “merger
mania” taking place throughout the agricultural economy threatens to consolidate
control of our basic food supply in the hands of a very few corporations looking for
market share and quarterly profits before social and environmental sustainability
concerns. These agribusiness giants are driving the small farmer off the landscape and
eliminating plant and food diversity from the farm and the supermarket.
The long-term prospects of this trend are disturbing, and regulatory oversight seems
arbitrary and compromised. Much of the rest of the world refuses to buy genetically
modified foods and seeds, forcing industry and the U.S. government to reassess the
patenting and fast track approval process for genetically modified organisms that they
have sold the American public as wholesome and safe.
What does all of this have to do with spring and seed catalogs? What is there to feel
good about here? It is that so many of the catalogs are marketing alternatives to the
prevailing corporate paradigm, and that this market is the fastest growing, greenest,
most sustainable, earth friendly and socially responsible segment of the economy.
We have a product line ideally positioned to provide real alternatives; the rise of the
“slow food” movement is a case in point. Slow food stresses quality over quantity and
heightened awareness of the interconnected relationships of the food chain. An
expanding awareness of how our food is produced, processed, and ultimately
consumed determines what and how we eat. Food serves to connect us with each
other, the earth, the cosmos, and ourselves. Food is, after all, just stored sunshine.
This is what led to the development of our mineral-rich plant food.
The plant food nourishes plants, but it also plays a larger role in building and
maintaining the matrix of life in the planet’s soils. Ordinary NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-
Potassium) fertilizers give quick results for plant growth with a few macronutrients, but
these mainstream products do little to establish long-term fertility in the biosphere. Only
recently discovered and popularized as the “crypto-biotic crust,” the unseen world of
soil microorganisms not only supports the growth of the higher plants, but serves as the
architecture that holds the soil together as a foundation for all that grows.
The importance of this cannot be overstated, since the soils are such a finite fraction of
the earth, take such a long time to accumulate, and are under ever-increasing pressure
to sustain the world’s population. The following resources are among the best at
articulating the subject in-depth:
Holistic Resource Management, is a book by Alan Savory, the founder of the
organization by the same name. Savory has written extensively on erosion following the
loss of biodiversity in ecosystems (and the effects move right up the food chain).
Exploring the Spectrum and Paramagnetism, by Phil Callahan, discuss the
electromagnetic potential of life, the parent material of the earth—rocks, and rock dust
in soils.
The Survival of Civilization, by John Hamaker and Don Weaver, takes a global look at
rock dust and the carbon cycle. This excellent work continues with “Remineralize The
Earth”, a networking newsletter for earth activists sharing information. This publication
is available from 152 South Street, Northhampton, MA 01060.
Secrets of the Soil, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, includes a good
discussion of both algae and rock dust (this book was written before our plant food was
developed).
Start with the Soil, by Grace Gershuny. The organic gardener's guide to improving
soil for higher yields, more beautiful flowers, and a healthy, easy-care garden.
Bread From Stones, by Julius Hensel. Written over one hundred years ago, this book
makes the case for the role of trace minerals in the health of humans and plants.
The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, a gold mine for understanding
the broader implications of agriculture, can be reached online at www.biodynamics.com,
or by mail at Building 1002B, Thoreau Center, The Presidio, PO Box 29135, San
Francisco, CA 94129-0135.
As you peruse your own stocks of seed catalogs in the spring, we hope that you will
pause and reflect on what some of these writers have to say on the subject of
producing our food.
As gardeners, we are cultivating more than just a row of vegetables; we are cultivating
a relationship with the earth herself. And to establish natural harmony we need to pay
attention to the smallest details as well as the large ideas. Everything is really
connected to everything else, and nowhere is this more apparent than in your garden.
