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The SMART Landscaping Exchange is a place for homeowners to find a local garden maintenance company that practices water efficient and environmentally responsible landscaping.

The mission of the SMART Landscaping Exchange is educate gardeners on sustainable landscaping practices show them how to create value for their homeowner customers.

SMART Landscapes take advantage of the latest products and technique.  Benefits include using less water, reducing runoff of fertilizer and pesticides into the environment, and healthy plants!

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The first step is to control where the water goes. The goal is to water only the intended area and do it in a way the makes the water cover as even as possible. Toro developed a sprinkler nozzles called the Precision® Series Rotating Nozzles. Its based off the design of the world’s leading gear-driven rotor for golf applications. These nozzles are powered by a proven gear drive and they deliver wind resistant, multi-stream, multi-trajectory patterns that provide greatly improved irrigation efficiency.  These nozzles thread onto nearly all spray heads or shrub adapter (male or female).

Step two is to control the watering duration and intervals so that plants get the right amount of water, not too much or too little. Also, a timer should adjust for changing weather conditions and shutoff during rain. These weather-based irrigation controllers (WBIC’s) are rapidly evolving and can be quite complex. Toro’s Climate Logic includes the complexity of a on-site weather station, but its also affordable and easy to install.

Step three.  Now that water is going where you want it and when you want it, the Garden I.V. can infuse this water with the nutrient your plant needs.  These nutrients can be tailored on a zone-by-zone basis to match the needs of the plants on that zone.  Of course, the distribution of this fertilizer is only as good as your sprinkler system. 

Step four.  Its all about whats in the cup!  Sustainable Turf Science has created a rotation of fertilizer cartridges designed to deliver all the necessary nutrients in the proper ratios to match the lawns needs.  The materials in the cup are the same high quality products used at golf and sports fields (see testimonials).  Our team of experts is creating a rotation of cups (called protocols in the golf world) to make is as easy as possible to follow an environmentally responsible fertility plan.

In summary, the Precision Spray Nozzles, Climate Logic Controller, and Garden I.V. Infuser and the rotation of Garden I.V. Fertilizer Cartridges provide the highest level of control ever available to a residential lawn and garden. This control of water and nutrient inputs is harnessed to create healthy plants that use water more efficiently and minimize pollution to the environment.

Picture: 1156 is the treatment fields, the hole is completely clean with no residue at all. We dug down about 12″ and spread the material out on top of the soil surface. The fine hair feeder roots of the corn plants were coming into the hole and were completely visual at the side wall of the hole.

Picture: 1153 is an macroarthopod; it will not be present in the soil unless all microbial species like bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematode, microarthopod, earthworm are present as well and in healthy population numbers to support them.

Pictures: 1154 & 1155, we found numerous earthworms in this hole, you can see from the holes in the soil surface layer that the earthworms are plentiful and active.

Picture: 1157 -We noted the corn ears were very evenly filled out and consistent in the treated area of the field. Most were filled to within 3/4″ to 1 inch of the ears end.

Pictures: 1174 & 1175 is the soil surface in the treated area of the field. There was some high carbon material left but not much. What was remaining had all the center core materials digested and gone along with most of the stock material; it shredded quite easily. Remember that residue on the soil surface has much less soil contact and reduces much slower, yet the crop residue program did and excellent job here.

Here are the results of the ‘untreated’ portion of the corn on corn field. Pictures taken on 9-9-2011 the same date as the treated portion.

Pictures: 1160 & 1162 is the residue found in the hole of 12″ deep.  There is some breakdown but not too much. There are no feeder roots coming into the hole. The center core, soft spongy material is still in the stock centers after 11 and 1/2 months.

Pictures: 1164, 1165,1166 show the small corn residue pieces still held in the soil and not broken down.

Picture: 1167 shows the stock with nearly all the soft core spongy material still intact with almost no decomposition.

Picture: 1168 & 1170 are a sample of the some ears with less filling at the tip.

Pictures: 1172 & 1173 shows the soil surface with more corn residue remaining.

Much more mineral nutrients from the previous years residue is still locked up in this soil. There was only 1 small earthworm found in this hole. The soil structure was clumpy and heavy, still containing pieces of corn stocks, etc. These hard clods are dense and hard and most likely anaerobic so they are producing pathogens and those pathogen produce aldehydes, alcohols, toxins that kill plant roots and beneficial biology. The absence of biology is very noticeable in the hole and on the surface.

BIO MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES
Ken Hamilton
420 Edgewood Place
Providence, Utah 84332
435-752-5215

There are several crucial points when it comes to foliar products. First is the molecular size of the molecules; second is the chelator’s, third is pH, and last is timing.

The wonderful thing about nature is there are no accidents! Everything happens for a reason, or doesn’t happen for a reason. Why do some foliars works, while others do not?

What matters most about a foliar product is how it is made, the molecular size of the nutrients, its ability to get inside the plant and have the plant take up and use those mineral nutrients with the least amount of effort and not let other products interfere with the nutrients intended for the plant.

First let’s look at particle or molecular size; foliars are meant to be taken-up by the plant through the leaf membrane. Many plant leaf membranes have a surface opening of 500 to 600 Daltons (atoms) in size. Particles larger than this are not going to pass through and get into the plant. They will remain on the leaf surface until they dry and wash off, doing the plant no good. Visualize a screen door, only dust, wind, etc get through the openings in the screen; large particles like sand, leaves, gravel etc are all barred strictly due to size. The same pretty much holds true for plant membrane surfaces as well. If the particle is too large, it doesn’t get in. Solu-plks has a molecular size of 200 to 300 Daltons; by keeping the mineral elements separated (chelated) our foliars will go right through the leaf surface membrane with chelated nutrients very fast.

Mineral combination caused by electrical attraction rapidly increases molecular size; for example, (positive or cation elements) Ca++ has an atomic weight of 40.08, Mn++ is 54.938, Fe+++ is 55.847, Co++ is 58.9332, Cu++ is 63.546, Zn++ is 65.38. Negative or anion elements, B- has an atom weight of 10.81, P— is 30.97376, S– is 32.06, CI- is 35.453, Mo- is 95.94. When you consider the plant available forms of these mineral nutrients, you can see how fast the molecular size can increase so that it cannot get through the leaf surface membrane; keeping mineral nutrients separated and small enough to enter the plant is crucial.

Chelators in foliar products these serve vital functions. First, it is rather common for a foliar product to have both positive and negatively charged minerals in the mix. Another very common event is to apply the foliar with a herbicide, insecticide, or even a fungicide at times. These add more and diverse compounds that are ‘charged’ either positive or negative and these will have an affect on the foliar minerals. The trick here is to not let minerals with a negative charge complex or tie up the minerals with a positive charge, which by nature they will do. Opposites attract and small molecules become bigger and bigger molecules in short periods of time as they combine and tie-up. Now, it is not just minerals tying up with minerals; we have compounds tying up minerals. The most notorious one for this is glyphosate; it is phosphate based with very negative multiple valances and we know how it ties up the positively charged trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, even Ca, K, Na), many of which are part of the foliar sprays and which are often times combined with that herbicide ingredients and sprayed out onto the plant at the same time to save an additional trip across the field. So you have minerals tying up minerals and compounds tying up minerals; everything becoming less effective.

Each of our foliar products are made specifically for that plant; we have no general foliar products. Our Corn Boost is made for corn and the mineral ratio’s in Corn will not be the same as what is in Bean Boost. Second, every single mineral nutrient we put in a foliar product has its very own chelator; Zn has its own chelator, Fe has its very own chelator, Mn, Cu, B, Co, Mo, each and every one has their own specific chelator. To my knowledge, we are the only ones doing this; often the chelator’s are more expensive than the minerals. If we have 12 mineral nutrients in a foliar product, we have 12 separate chelators. WHY? To stop the complexing and tying up processes that naturally occurs. By doing this, we keep the molecular size of the various nutrients extremely small, small enough to easily pass through the plants root or leaf surface membrane. Our foliar products have between a 95 to 98% uptake within 8 hours after application if the rain doesn’t wash them off.

Most companies make a foliar product with multiple nutrients yet use one general chelator, to save money. However, that one chelator will find one of those minerals that it has a greater affinity for than others so you have one or so minerals out of the bunch that is not going to tie up with some other element to some degree. That is why some foliars have an uptake rate of 20% or 30, even only 40%. Chelating minerals means we take a postively charged nutrient like Mn ++ and attach a pair of – - to it so it becomes balanced, then it is no longer attracted to a positively charged ion or a negatively charged ion and it remains soluble and usable by the plant. If you do not make your foliars rights, they will not work right and most of the product will not get into the plant.

Solu-plks is always added to our foliar products, generally at 1 pint to 1 quart per acre depending on the crop and nutrient package. Solu-plks is a very small, extremely active particle that carries both positive and negative charges. In addition to the individual chelators in our foliar products, Solu-plks also acts as a chelator. Solu-plks will stop the glyphosate mineral nutrient tie up process when Roundup and foliar products are mixed together. Solu-plks not only does this in the tank when they are mixed together, but also long afterward inside the plant. When the glyphosate molecule gets inside the plant, it continuously strips away the trace minerals and we see plant diseases, loss of production, earlier symptoms of degeneration in leaf tissues, increased insect pressures, on and on. As the plant exudes glyphosate out of its root system, glyphosate continues the mineral tie-up in the soil. Solu-plks is the only product that can stop and reverse to a large degree this mineral nutrient tie-up.

pH is crucial in that you want the mineral nutrient that gets into the plant in the most usable form and at a pH that does not bring any stress to the plant as it tries to use it. Mineral foliars at high or low pH’s bring a great deal of stress to the plant to restructure them into difference compounds before it can use them without damaging itself. This is a lot of extra work that requires a great deal of energy from the plant. While the plant is dealing with high and low pH elements, it is not doing what it should be doing and is wasting a lot of energy. Our foliars are at the optimum pH for the highest uptake and also require far less effort on the plant to utilize them.

Timing of the foliars need to be applied at the right time. Getting the minerals into the plant at the right time (growth stages) so the plant can express it genetic potential is just a crucial as building the correct and best foliar products. Properly made foliars, applied at the right times, are excellent management practices that go hand in hand.

Foliar applications are best applied when the plants are most active internally which is generally early mornings before the temperatures get too hot and late evenings after temperatures have dropped. Plants will decrease their activity during the heat of the day to reduce stress and water loss through evapotransrespiration (the transfer of soil moisture through the plant which evaporates into the atmosphere).

Ken Hamilton

Bio Minerals Technologies, Inc.

420 Edgewood Place

Providence, Utah 84332

435-752-5215

SOLU-PLKS AND SOIL MINERALS

Solu-plks acts as a facilitator to make minerals that are present in the soil, which are tied-up, to become plant available or in the case of foliar products stay available. Solu-plks is not an N, P, K, type product; it is not a substitute for elemental minerals.

Minerals (elements / compounds of elements) in the soil are electro-magnetically charged with either negative – anionic charges or positive – cationic charges. This is nature’s way of ‘holding’ soil elements in place so these mineral elements do not all leach out and end up in the nearest ocean. In addition, clays and organic matter are negatively charged and they provide a large negatively charged base to the holding capacity of the soil by attracting the positively charged cations to their surfaces by way of adsorption. This ‘holding capacity’ is known as the Cation Exchange Capacity or CEC. While it does give you an indication of the potential reserves; the Base Saturation will give you a closer look at the ratio of positively charged minerals being held by the negatively charged particles in the soil – be it organic matter or mineral.

The CEC and Base Saturation does not indicate the level of soluble plant available mineral nutrients, rather, it is the amount and various ratios of the minerals being held.

Solu-plks works as a ‘releasing agent’ to substitute some of the current bonding between positive and negative charged particles held in the soil which are tied-up electro-magnetically, but does not release all of them. Solu-plks is a very small, highly active compound which carries both positive and negative charges. Solu-plks can donate a ‘charge’ either positive or negative and in doing so will facilitate the release of weaker bonded elements. A weak bond cannot release a strong bond. Solu-plks is not going to release all of the electro-magnetic bonds in the soil, but some of them. Once the mineral element is released from its previous bond, it attaches to the Solu-plks and is then held in the soil solution as a soluble plant available nutrient. Solu-plks has a ‘limited’ donating capacity; once Solu-plks has exchanged it charges and is holding mineral nutrients in soluble it has done its job. However, by increasing the amount of Solu-plks we put into the soil, we increase the releasing potential. We see this affirmed in test after test and all functional soils; one-half gallon of Solu-plks per acre will release far more tied-up minerals into solution than a true water soluble soil test. One gallon of Solu-plks per acre will release even more tied-up minerals into solution than one-half gallon of Solu-plks can. Two gallons will do more than one gallon, etc. If Solu-plks encounters a stronger bond, it is not going to release that bond; that mineral / compound will remain complexed (tied-up) and plant unavailable.

Here is the crucial element: the minerals must be present in the soil before Solu-plks can release them and help make them soluble. If the mineral elements are low or non-existent, Solu-plks can only work with what is presently there. Solu-plks cannot make something out of nothing! The underlying minerals presence in any soil has a direct relationship on the ‘effectiveness’ of Solu-plks. If your vital major, secondary and trace nutrients are low to very low, there is no possible way for Solu-plks to make those minerals soluble at a level compared to soils that have and hold higher levels of major, secondary and trace nutrients. Whether you get 30%, 60% or 90% efficiency out of your Solu-plks application depends largely on two factors; 1)- the present underlying mineral content of the soil you are applying Solu-plks too, and 2)- the amount of Solu-plks you apply to that soil, be it one-half gallon, one gallon, or more.

Also realize that soil additives such as fertilizers – both dry and liquid, manures – fresh, dried or biologically processed, composts, all have different properties which affect their ‘holding’ and ‘releasing’ potential. Soils can further enhance or retard the availability of those nutrients being applied by way of pH, organic matter or clay levels, even other mineral levels. Soil temperatures that are too cold limit nutrient up-take by the plant and soils which get too hot lowers mineral uptake. Soils which retain too much water too long stop the exchange of oxygen between plant and soil and the nutrient up-take process stops. Ambient air temperatures either too cold or too hot shut down plant functions. Chemical applications such as herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are enzyme inhibitors and they reduce or stop specific enzymatic plant functions as well. Solu-plks is a natural, organic substance and it only works within the confines of natural law; it cannot ‘trump’ every environmental factor that we encounter each year.

SOLU-PLKS AND SOIL BIOLOGY

Solu-plks stimulates the rapid growth of beneficial soil microorganisms. The organic acids, enzymes, amino acids and organic complexes within Solu-plks are especially growth promoting to the beneficial fungi, protozoa and nematodes. The more complex food sources in Solu-plks are the major stimulants for the fungi, protozoa  and nematodes as they require these types of food sources and are themselves more complex than bacteria; however, bacteria do exhibit a modest and responsive growth rate to Solu-plks as well, but not equal to the growth rate of the more complex biology groups.

Stimulating soil biology breathes life back into our agricultural soils. Many of our fields have been reduced to primarily bacteria-based or bacteria-dominant biology zones. While having beneficial bacteria is an essential part of a living soil, it is not complete and functional without the other soil microorganisms that exist within the soil food web and are required to make it function properly. Our beneficial fungi, protozoa, nematodes, micro-arthopods, macro-arthopods or shredders and even earthworms are largely absent in our soils because of excess tillage we use, the compaction we create, the toxic chemicals we apply and most of all because we rarely, if ever, apply a nutrient to feed these higher biological groups.

Biological assistant in increasing yield and crop quality is a key factor in managing your soil. Very often the yields we see from biologically healthy fields exceed the N, P, K, Ca, S, etc mineral analysis of that soil; where did that extra push come from? The biology!

Feeding / stimulating soil biology with Solu-plks is an unseen but not an unnoticed benefit if you know what to look for. Soil biology will restructure soil aggregates which reduces compaction, which allows for more air and water penetration into the soil profile. As the soil opens up, the plant roots expand / grow and contact more surface area to access more mineral nutrition. You see improved moisture retention and drainage; you see better root to soil exchange of oxygen for nutrient up-take; you get a bigger healthier plant with increased yield potential.

Beneficial soil biology plays a major role in disease resistance and pathogen control.

A biologically healthy soil will maintain more even soil temperatures throughout the spring, summer and fall growing seasons. Soil temperatures affect nutrient up-take by plants; too cold or too hot and the mineral up-take is reduced. The wider fluctuations in soil temperature also produce added stresses for the plant to deal with. Warmer soils and more even spring soil temperatures means earlier and faster germination times; each day means yield.

Nutrient cycling (free fertilizer) is achieved when you have the biology in the soil present in their various groups and functioning. Bacteria and fungi are the decomposers of organic matter; protozoa and nematodes are the predators which feed on the bacteria and fungi. In the natural process of each biological group playing its role, organic matter is broken down and organic plant soluble nutrients become available to plants as the predator – prey interaction occurs. Returning crop residue back into soil minerals that become plant available reduces fertilizer costs and drastically reduces the environment for pathogens to over-winter on and attack the new crop the next spring. When a predator microbe such as a protozoa eats a bacteria, each having a different C to N ratio, the predator releases the excess minerals, not needed by its system for maintenance, back into the soil where the plant root can immediately take them up.

Each plant type be it flowers, vegetables, row crops, vines or fruits, shrubs, bushes or trees have a preferred fungi to bacteria ratio. Some plants require more bacteria than fungi in their root systems to cycle the correct nutrients for that plant; other plants such as row crops need a more balanced fungi to bacteria ratio and other plants such as vines, shrubs and tree require far more fungi than bacteria in their root systems to generate the proper mineral nutrients correct for the type of plant. The crucial factor is the biology has to be present and functioning for all this to happen. Soil biology can also moderate the soils pH immediately around the root zone (rhizosphere) for that needs of that particular plant. Solu-plks is a major nutrient source and growth promoting substance for these vital and various biological soil microorganism groups. Solu-plks releases or makes available soil minerals if they are present; microbes need these minerals to function just as much as the plant does, they are both living organisms.

Solu-plks is used as the primary food source in pre-treating soil inoculants to substantially increase microbial populations before the material is put out on the soil itself; this is done with both dry (compost and mineral blends) and liquid (tea) inoculants. Establishing high populations of biology in the inoculant materials insures that we have healthy, functional and active groups going into soils lacking biology and the overall survival rate should be much higher.

There are many factors that affect plant growth; nature is all about balance. Everything happens for a reason, there are no accidents in nature! Our job is to understand the properties behind the substances we use and find a workable balance to improve plant growth, nutrient up-take and improve yields and production quality.

BIO MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES
Ken Hamilton
420 Edgewood Place
Providence, Utah 84332
435-752-5215

Both biology and minerals play vitally important roles in plant health, production and sustained longevity. Many of the modern chemically processed concoctions that are applied to growing plants have been formulated with little regard to plant health and the biological ‘side-effects’ once they are applied. Plants respond to energy which is derived from mineral elements seeking a chemical balance in the soil by way of oxidation – reduction; the exchange – a gain or loss – of electrons. Simply creating energy does mean you can invoke a plant response but it does not mean it is healthy, balanced and will result in less disease or greater production; it generally does little to improve quality as well.

“There are NO accidents in nature – everything happens for a reason”. Nature is governed by natural laws; everything plays a role and for every action there is a reaction. Every input adds a chemical or biology ‘effect or ripple’ into the new environment it is placed. If the product or input is in harmony with the existing life balances of that system then everything moves forward in a healthy sustainable pattern. Inputs from products with imbalanced energetic, nutritional and biologically toxic compounds will alter the present life systems and pathogens, disease-causing organisms and plant stress will be given an environment that favors them. In time, however we have altered (balanced or imbalanced) the environment or terrain that sustains the present life form it will be the dominant factor that determines plant health, sustainability and vitality or plant disease perpetuated by toxic chemical rescue after rescue. When disease appears nature is telling us something is out of balance; if we are paying close attention we will always be looking for these ‘red flags’ from nature as they are the early warning signs of greater problems to come.

Mankind in most instances has lost the concept of “Stewardship” that of managing within the laws of a higher order or system. This earth and everything on and in it was organized by one infinitely greater than us; it was here long before we arrived and it will be here long after we are gone. That indicates a superior law or natural order that we are not the maker of or the ruler over. Yet we often approach crop production and plant management as if we have the final say and what we determine the outcome to be will be! N,P,K fertility, GE (genetic engineering) GMO (genetic modified organisms), pest control (insect, soil pathogens) weed control (herbicides) are just a few concepts we have adopted to ‘force’ nature into our way of complying with our intended outcomes. A word to the wise, You cannot cheat nature and win!

A great natural balance exists between microbes and minerals. They are harmonious and synergistic in their intertwined relationship; one is not complete without the other. They must be understood so the best and correct applications can be applied for the greatest benefit to that environment and its living systems. Simply adding lots of minerals or lots of microbes is not the answer. Nature is all about balance! Certainly not all plants require the same minerals in the same ratios at the same times. Not all plants require the same fungal to bacteria ratios; some plants are bacterially dominant, other require a balance of both fungi and bacteria, while other plants require much higher numbers of fungi to that of bacteria in their root systems (rhizosphere). No one product will ever be the ‘silver bullet’ for plant growth and yield; all of nature is intricately interwoven to where each mineral or microbe is a vital piece in the overall system of life, health, immunity and production, where all roles combine to the benefit of the whole.

Biology provides multiple vital roles in soil structuring, disease suppression, water retention and nutrient cycling.

SOIL RESTRUCTURING

Microbes are masters at rebuilding soil structure which helps eliminate compaction and increase air space and water retention pockets. By restructuring soil aggregates into structures that resembles a ‘popcorn ball’ verses a ‘cannon ball’ the biology create airway, passage ways and open many thousands of times more surface area for roots to easily contact where nutrient exchange can occur. Bacteria use alkaline glues to restructure soil aggregates while fungi use acidic strands like threads to hold and retain soil particles; bacterially dominant soils are more alkaline in nature- 7-8 pH, soil that share a balance of both fungi and bacteria will be very near the neutral pH of 7, plus or minus just a little, and the fungally dominated soils will be below pH of 7 in the 5 and 6 range. Of course these are the ‘healthy’ ranges for the beneficial microorganisms and the plants they interact with. Soil with a lower pH than 5 tend to be very unhealthy soils that harbor parasitic, pathogenic and disease causing organisms because the compaction, reduced oxygen (anaerobic) etc., sets up that environment that favors these types of microorganisms.

DISEASE SUPPRESSION

Over 100 years ago, Rudolph Virchow, Father of Pathology said: “If I could live my life over again, I would devote it to proving that [pathogens] seek their natural habitat – diseased tissue – rather than being the cause of the diseased tissue; that is, mosquitoes seek the stagnant water, but do not cause the pool to become stagnant.”

In soil, pathogens are simply microbes that eat unhealthy plants. They are not the cause of the disease but a symptom of unhealthy plant tissue. The ‘bad guys’ will always be there and they have an essential ecological role – to remove the unhealthy, nutrient deficient plants from the gene pool! What an incredible service to those higher life forms further up the food chain – ensuring the consumption of the most nutrient dense food possible.

The physical symptoms we call disease (black spot, rust, wilt, etc,) are just the visual aftermath of pathogens feeding on the unhealthy plant tissues. Like the mosquito to stagnant water, diseased tissue is the natural habitat for pathogens. They seek it out, but are not the cause of it. Healthy plants are actually toxic to the pathogens. The ‘bad guys’ can digest the diseased plant tissue, but not the healthy tissue.

We come back to “Cause and Effect”. Do we treat the symptoms and ignore the cause or treat the cause and eliminate the symptoms? Creating optimal growing conditions is the first step in a ‘plant positive’ approach. The environment in which the plant grows should be dominated with biology and minerals; the biology will either be beneficial organisms assisting healthy plant growth or pathogenic organisms destroying unhealthy plant life; the minerals are either going to be in a balanced ratios, soluble, organic and plant available and in a form that provides the plant with the most energy with the least amount of stress to utilize (meaning the right pH) or the minerals in the soil will be in imbalanced ratios, insoluble, inorganic and soil pH will not be ideal for plant growth.

Some common causes of unhealthy plant tissue are: toxicity (chemical overload-high salts and acids based products – imbalanced nutrient ratios), soil compaction with reduced oxygen levels for biology and root nutrient exchange and inhibited root growth, too much or too little water (allowing saturation-reduced oxygen levels, mineral leaching or wilting point conditions) and an unhappy microbe population (lack of beneficial organisms, no competition for the ‘bad guys’, not enough food, air and water) or the wrong biology/plant mix (meaning those plants that by nature require more bacteria than fungi in their root systems need to have more bacteria than fungi so the plant gets the right soil conditions, pH, nutrient cycling etc., you do not want high bacteria populations under fungally dominated plants, the soil pH will be wrong, the mineral nutrients will not be in the right form for that plant, unhealthy plants with disease will follow).

Dr Phillip Callahan established the research back in the 1950’s where he proved that insects where drawn to unhealthy plants. He found that plants emitted electro-magnetic frequencies that indicated that plants level of health. Insect via their antennas picked up these electro-magnetic frequencies and interpreted them to determine if the plant should be left alone (healthy) or destroyed (unhealthy). The substance of the electro-magnetic frequencies generated by plants has to do with its mineral contents; every element is a composition of atom(s)– meaning proton, neutrons, and electrons. Each element having different numbers of each protons, neutrons, electrons thus have different atomic or molecular weights. Each mineral element because of its atomic structure has its own unique vibrational pattern. Plant with a ‘full range’ of vibrational or electro-magnetic frequencies represented a complete or full complex of vital nutrients held within the plant in the right balances; plants generating incomplete electro-magnetic frequencies indicated low and inadequate minerals presences to sustain healthy plant functions. Dr Callahan found that healthy plants which had high enough dissolved solids such as sugars and minerals (BRIX) were actually lethal to the insects that ingested them. The jobs of the insects were to seek out and destroy unhealthy plants so higher life forms up the food chain could sustain healthy active productive lives. How fascinating that soil pathogens and insects share the same natural roles; the culling of unhealthy, nutrient deficient plants from the gene pool and food chain.

NUTRIENT CYCLING

Each organism species, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematode, microarthopods, macroarthopods also known as shedders, earthworms, gastropods, and on up have a different Carbon (C) to Nitrogen (N) ratio; this allows for the nutrients held in one species to be released when eaten by another species. Bacteria are the most nutrient dense living organism on this planet with a C to N ratio of 5:1, in general; fungi 20:1, protozoa 30:1, just like us humans, nematodes 100:1 and micro-macroarthopods upwards of 150:1. Bacteria and fungi are the decomposers, they breakdown plant residue and organic matter; the predatory microbes are the protozoa and nematodes, they eat bacteria and fungi primarily. Shedders being micro-macroarthopods tear apart the organic matter to get to their food sources, the fungi, protozoa and even nematodes. Earthworms will eat just about anything from organic matter, nematodes, protozoa, fungi and bacteria. Gastropods eat fungi, algae, lichens, fresh and rotting organic matter.

A protozoan with a C to N ratio of 30:1 has to maintain 30 Carbons and 1 Nitrogen in order to maintain its homeostasis. In acquiring the 30 carbons it must eat 6 bacteria (5:1); in doing so, it now contains 6 nitrogen’s but can only keep 1. The protozoa must excrete 5 nitrogen molecules back into the soil (as NH4-ammonium); not only is the protozoa ‘mineralizing’ nitrogen, it is mineralizing P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, Cu, B, Co, Mo, Mn, and many more mineral nutrients. This pattern is repeated over and over, many thousands of times a day by each of these active and functioning microorganism groups living in the soil.

With each group having a different Carbon to Nitrogen ratio that also dictates the type and kinds of food it can eat. Bacteria with a very close C to N ratio must eat foods that allow it to maintain its own vital ratio. Bacteria can decompose young, still-fresh plant materials (green) containing lots of sugars which are easier for them to digest. The more complex carbon compounds of other plants are left to the fungi with a wider C to N ratio. Bacteria produce enzymes that break organic matter down and they take in food (sugars, proteins, carbons, and other ions) directly through their cell walls which act as osmotic barriers; nutrients in waste products out. Once inside the bacteria, the nutrients are locked up, they will not leach or wash out of the soil.

Bacteria play another very important role in the life cycle of a plant. In addition to helping decompose the plant, they play a major role in providing nutrients for the plant as it grows. As a plant grows, it releases exudates via the roots which are made up of photosynthetic sugars and compounds which are designed to grow specific microorganism groups within it rhizosphere or root system. Plants have the ability to determine the biological groups within its root system by the type of compounds it releases through the roots. Plants that need to maintain higher bacteria to fungi ratios will exude simpler sugars and compounds that bacteria can eat and reproduce very quickly with. Plants that need to maintain higher fungal populations than bacteria will release more complex carbon compounds that the fungi need to grow and reproduce. With these varied root exudates being released into the root system, microorganisms grow to the hundreds of millions per gram or rhizosphere soil. If you are a predator like a protozoa or nematode you simply go to where the huge food sources are, the root zone. As the bacteria and fungi grow rapidly, they are eaten by the protozoa and nematodes, releasing those excess mineralized nutrients in the form the plant can take up through the root system. Plants do not make enzymes strong enough to dissolve organic matter or complex mineral compounds in the soil; plants can only take up ‘soluble’ nutrients. It is the microbes that produce enzymes strong enough to solubilize minerals and organic matter and once taken into their bodies and retained as organic nutrients, they then provide the ‘plant soluble’ form of nutrient that the plant will absorb through its own root system when these bacteria and fungi and eaten by predatory microbes. Nutrients in this form are far superior to anything that is in a synthetic or inorganic form.

MINERALS – MAJOR – TRACE NUTRIENTS

The distinction between a mineral nutrient as presented herein is not based on whether or not it is essential (some being more widely used and essential than others) but more in ‘how’ the element is used. The distinction being if it is used in the base or foundation of the building up of compounds-those being labeled as macronutrients, or whether the element or nutrient is more a part of the reactionary process activating an enzyme and becoming a cofactor in metabolic reactions-those being labeled as micronutrients or trace elements.

The 9 elements or nutrients that consistently appear in the ‘building block’ roles are Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Sulfur (Potassium stays in solution and controls osmotic potential and hundreds of enzymatic reactions) and Calcium as these are the major building components of compounds carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins, enzymes, DNA and RNA, vitamins, ATP and the list goes on and on. These nutrients and elements constitute the major portion of the compounds formed, sometimes and much as 99.5% of it. Thus, they play a major role in the construction and structural formation of the compound,(s) nutrient,(s) tissue,(s) or organism(s).

The 18 elements or nutrients needed for life and or play a role in various biological functions in small trace quantities and that appear in the cofactor role; that of activating and stimulating the reactions required for metabolism through enzymes, substrates that catalyze reactions, (by use of cofactors and coenzymes) such as cellular respiration, photosynthesis, formation of ATP, catabolic and anabolic reactions that use oxidation-reduction, these and many other reactions that combine with the macronutrients to properly perform their divinely appointed functions are Boron, Fluorine, Sodium, Silicon, Chlorine, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Arsenic, Selenium, Molybdenum, Cadmium, and Iodine.

There are many more ‘beneficial elements’ that we have not researched and currently know little about, yet observation tells us that these other trace elements have and do play important roles not only in plant health but microorganism health and function as well. The elements or nutrients whether in the macronutrient class or the micronutrient class are not listed in the order of importance or the volume or percentage they take up in a compound, tissue, or organisms. The elements are listed in the order they appear in the Periodic Table of Elements.

Trace Minerals play a vital role in all living systems be it microbes, plants, animals or human-kind; however trace elements cannot be fully understood without the crucial role they play on enzymatic reactions. Trace Minerals are the inorganic (metal ions) co-factors (cofactor is the more general term for small molecules required for the activity of their associated enzymes) that assist in the biochemical reactions with enzymes and are very often required by the enzyme for reactions to occur. In many cases, enzymes need assistance to facilitate and greatly increase their actions and reaction. Co-factor metal ions contained within enzymes may destabilize substrates. Destabilizing the substrate and stablizing reaction intermediates both decrease the activation energy barrier and accelerate conversion of substrate into products.

Enzymes are biomolecules (any organic molecule that is produced by a living organism-such as human-kind, animals, plants, fungus, or micro-organisms) that catalyze (speed up) chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called substrates (a molecule upon which an enzyme acts), and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products. Enzymes bring about changes in their substrates without being changed themselves, i.e. they are true catalysts. They increase the rates of reactions many thousands or even millions of times. They change the speed of reactions, but cannot make reactions occur which would not otherwise take place. Thus they change the rate but not the equilibrium constants of reactions. They are highly specific; this means that they will act only on substrates which have a particular structure. They convert substrates into products with almost 100% efficiency.

There are hundreds and perhaps thousands of enzymes; there are thousands and tens of thousands or more biochemical reactions and combinations of reactions. Mineral nutrients taken up by plants are ‘changed’ or ‘fixed’ many different ways and into many, many different processes (metabolic pathways) and combinations with other mineral nutrients as they go from inorganic to organic plant components and ultimately function as healthy plant cells, compounds, tissues, etc. Enzymes, driven by Trace Elements and coenzymes, are the key to these countless changes and conversions that can occur as fast as millions of times per second, simultaneously with hundreds or thousands of other biochemical reactions, day and night, supporting and driving all life systems. Life, in any form, could simply not exist without them.

Dr William Albrecht of the University of Missouri agricultural station and his crew of researchers were responsible for developing the mineral basis or mineral ratios in which the plants demonstrated their best response. These were soil mineral ratios, one to another, both cationic (positively charged ions) and anionic (negatively charged ions) along with alkaline and acid forming elements that provided the plant with the best ratio of soluble balanced nutrients. It also helped reduced soil compaction and greatly assisted the microrganisms by improving their environment and providing adequate amounts of mineral nutrients for their functions as well. This work and research spanned more than 3 decades, from the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s.

By the close of WWII and on into the 1950s the chemical companies were well underway in their efforts to establish a new agricultural concept where all problems could be solved by dominating nature, rather than learning from and cooperating with nature. These chemical companies moved quickly to take over the land grant universities and started really pushing their chemcial-based agriculture. The works of Dr Albrecht, J.I.Rodale, Louis Bromfield, Sir Albert Howard and others had to go. Plant fertility needed to be simplified and they delivered N, P, K, to the farmers (via the universities) a simple, one step approach to growing plants. While the yields went up, the nutritional value fell, and the ‘force-grown’ plants on soon-depleted soils were insect and disease magnets, calling for more chemicals every year. The harsh concentrated fertilizers burned up the humus and killed of the biology that once lived in those soils. The soils were robbed of their mineral stores, as the only nutrients applied were those necessary to achieve high yields.

Once the natural systems were imbalanced and destroyed to a large extent, these soil scientists from the chemical companies knew they had created a new generation of farmers that would be perpetually dependent on their products. The focus was all on quantity, little concern was given to quality. The animals and people raised on these force-fed foods became malnourished and disease-prone. The law of diminishing returns was showing up a vengeance, but the ‘scientific’ solution to the problem was always another and more powerful chemical and a plant bred to tolerate it.

Since the dawn of time there has never been nor will there ever be any living organisms (microbe, plant, animal or human) that can survive let alone thrive on N, P, K. After more than 6 decades of the ‘new agriculture’ we have produced one of the most unhealthy populations on the planet – well behind that of many third world nations – all the while having the most advanced medical care the world has ever known, we have produced the highest yielding acres in the world with the most nutrient-deficient toxic foods, we have produced the most resistant microbes, weeds and insects while using the most deadly chemical know to mankind, we have produced a nation of the wealthiest people on earth and most will lose that wealth trying to maintain some resemblance of health in their later years. There is absolutely nothing ‘sustainable’ about this system.  Does anyone really need to ask where this bus is headed? It’s called a CLIFF!

The correct minerals in the right ratios accompanied by the correct biology with do more to set the environment to the optimal growing conditions of each plant. Nature will give us all types of indicators on how we are doing; Dr. Carey Reams always said: our job is to ‘see’ what we are looking at!