Soil & Plants (Part 209)

By: John Ferguson

We often talk about the dangers of the glyphosate herbicides to or health. Now we have another one of concern. 

Another study has found 41 percent of all ground water and 1 out of 3 Americans are contaminated with the toxic weedkiller 2,4-D the main ingredient in agent orange. 

The study was carried out by researchers at George Washington University on a pool of 14,395 people. At the beginning of the study in 2001 only 17 percent of the population was contaminated by this toxic chemical and this increased to 40% only 10 years later. 

“More evidence comes out almost daily that this chemical is linked to certain cancers, birth defects, immunosuppression, and other health conditions.” Epoch Times 

The combination of our extremely poor-quality food and the constant exposure to toxic chemicals, it is no wonder that Americans are the sickest people on Earth. In 2018 we spent $13.6 trillion on sickness care. 

Rutgers University’s Dr James White has been leading the research into another process of soil microbes called “rhizophagy”. His team has discovered that when plants use this process, they are tougher, healthier, and generally stronger. When one uses water-soluble artificial fertilizers, plants quit using this process! So, what is “rhizophagy”? In nature bacteria will dissolve or acquire a certain element a plant needs for nutrition and incorporate it into their cell structure. The plant will then open up its root hairs and allow the bacteria to enter the root. The plant then tells the bacteria to release that element (nutrient) and give it to the plant. When this process is completed, the plant then releases the bacteria back into the soil to find more nutrients that it needs. 

While in the plant root, the bacteria also produce ethylene and nitric oxides which are plant growth hormones. 

Slides images are from his website. Dr. James White discusses the Rhizophagy Cycle and how we are just starting to scratch the surface on how plants work. God’s creation is amazing and how all life is linked together. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMr3_tGeAu8 

Remember, all artificial fertilizers are chemically salts and salts kill bacteria, hence we lose this benefit. This another reason to use only good organic fertilizers like the MicrolifeTM family and use Re-mineralizer to replace the trace and micronutrients.

A recent article in the Epoch Times newspaper (April 27-May 3, 2022) was on the growing trend to get rid of lawns and create “Food Forests”. Americans are tired of the low quality, chemically adulterated stuff full of toxic chemicals that are the cause of most of our health problems. 

Tens of thousands of tons of toxic chemicals like pesticides are being applied to our lawns every year that have been linked to many forms of cancer. These toxic chemicals destroy the health of the soil, pollute our waterways, and require large amounts of water. 

We are seeing supply chain issues, shortages of some foods and rapidly increasing prices. Hence, many folks are removing their lawns and planting fruit and vegetable gardens using permaculture methods. 

One health example is that spinach loses most of its vitamin-C within only one day of harvest. Most vegetables lose 50% of more of their original nutrition in less than a week (which is less than average time from harvest to grocery store shelves). 

Using Permaculture techniques in our yards and gardens mimics natural ecosystems, gives us better results, and cost less. In addition, we get beautiful flowers and nutrient dense, better tasting food. 

Urban Harvest offers classes in permaculture (www.urbanharvest.org), in addition to sponsoring several Farmers Markets where one can get fresh locally grown organic food. I am finishing an excellent new book titled, “What Your Food Ate, How to Heal the Land and Reclaim our Health” by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle that links soil care to our health. I will review it in a future newsletter.