The gardening movement that places soil health at the center of plant health has been where Harlequin’s Gardens has experimented, succeeded and educated for the past 33 years.
Mikl’s taking the movement well into the 21st Century! Here are his key points for sustainable gardening:
- Soil biology is the high road, not inputs made from fossil fuels or extractive methods.
2. Chemical fertilizers are made from natural gas. They stimulate growth, but are lacking in micronutrients necessary to support the immune system of plants. A weakened immune system invites pests and diseases and supports the idea that we need pesticides.
3. Plants can’t escape predators (insects and fungi) They defend themselves chemically. The better nutrition they have, the better they can create phytochemicals for their own defense.
4. The most common defense is to make themselves indigestible/less digestible. Other defenses: make themselves poisonous, hallucinogenic, irritating or repellant.
5. Plants, phytoplankton, some algae and some bacteria can photosynthesize, i.e., make food from the energy of sunlight and the carbon of carbon dioxide, plus water. Everybody else eats plants or eats animals that have eaten plants.
6. Part of plants’ intelligence is that they share 30%-40% of the sugars (food) they make, letting it flow out into the rhizosphere space around their roots, to attract and feed bacteria, fungi, worms etc.
7. The soil life surrounding plant roots not only eat plant food, they (like mycorrhizae) bring water and nutrients, (like phosphorus) to the plant roots, often in plant-available form. (many of the nutrients in the soil are not in a form usable by the plants). The soil life has been called the digestive system of the plant kingdom. They dissolve minerals, and digest raw materials so the plants can absorb them.
8. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides: (-cides means to kill) “Don’t know when to stop killing” and kill, weaken or suppress our soil, insect and fungal allies. Then we have to take over their jobs.
9. Diversity is power: the more diverse the population of soil organisms, the greater the diversity of plant nutrients they make available, and the greater diversity of plants they can support. The greater the diversity of plants, the greater the diversity of soil organisms they can support. This is how Nature supports soil health and plant health, which in turn supports the health of animals and humans that eat them.
10. At the same time, the phytonutrients produced by healthy plants are their immune system, and defend them from insect predators and fungal diseases. These nutrient-dense plants also support our human immune systems when we eat them, supporting health and preventing diseases. Colorful vegetables, herbs and spices, including onions and garlic are rich in phytochemicals, including antioxidants and anti-inflammatories.
11. We support plant health by providing inputs of composts (carbon) from plant wastes, manures, worm castings; animal, fish and crustacean wastes; rock minerals, seaweed; organic fertilizers humate and air.
12. Expanded shale holds both air and water and is a long-lasting clay-buster. Mulch reduces evaporation, insulates and helps feed and keep soil life alive.
13. Plants share chemical information (like the presence of pests) with their neighboring plants through their roots and through their mycorrhizal partners.
14. This is just a glimpse. There is more that is known and there is a lot more we have yet to learn.