Shona & Troy on our community farm

Shona and Troy with produce to take home after working on their plots.

See adjacent post for more information.

Growing rhubarb

Organic farming is not for Sissies-- growing peas.

Growing peas

Three varieties of peas can be grown. Garden peas are the variety that you shell and take out the peas inside and throw away the outer shell. The grow into untidy sprawling plants.
Snow peas grow on trellises and can reach up to 2 metre tall. Sugar snap peas were developed in Holland in 1970 by crossing garden peas and snow peas.
Peas are a winter crop. On Tamborine Mountain we start planting peas in March and harvest from May to October.
Peas are a very valuable crop to grow for three reasons.
The first reason is that peas are legumes. Peas add valuable nitrogen, which is freely available in the air and make it plant available via the rhizobia that live in the nodules that grow on the roots of the plant.
The second reason is that peas are an excellent food because they are supercharged with minerals including manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc and potassium.
They also contain vitamins, A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C and K as well as folate and tryptophan.
The combination of folic acid and B6 helps reduce build up of homosysteine, which can
obstruct collagen cross-linking, which causes osteoporosis. Folic acid is so important for cardiovascular function that a major 1995 study concluded that 400 milligrams of folic acid per day help prevent death from cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin K activates osteocalan, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalan anchors calcium molecules inside our bones. Vitamin K is also vital to the body's healthy blood clotting ability.
The third reason to grow peas is if you want to make money by selling them. In 2011 we planted snow peas along 5 trellises each 6 metres long, two rows of garden peas each 10 metres long, and 6 rows each 10 metres long were planted with sugar snap peas. In total we picked over 100 kg of peas which we sold at prices between $14 and $25 per kilogram. Sugar snap peas fetched the highest price.
The one drawback in growing peas is that they are very labour intensive when it comes time to pick them.
Bev Buckley For more information learn more

Community Farm testimonial from Larry & Julie

Next time you reach for the RoundUp - STOP!

Glyphosate
Next time you reach for the can of RoundUp to clean up a path or a patch of unwanted grass or weeds, stop for a minute and think of the harm you might be doing to your farm and garden soil, the waterways and rivers, the micro-organisms that support life on this planet, your own health and the health of those who are yet to be born.

Glyphosate is without doubt, a disaster in the making. We are only now beginning to understand some of the dangers of unfettered use of RoundUp in commercial agriculture and in our own home gardens. Even more disturbing is the escalating use of RoundUp in commercial agriculture, particularly in genetically modified crops.

The problem with products like RoundUp is that they appear to be very effective. They do the job we want them to do. They allow us to clean up unsightly weeds and overgrown areas with little effort. This quick fix causes a vast number of highly dangerous, long-term problems.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in RoundUp. On its own it is very poisonous. Combined with some of the other ingredients contained in RoundUp, glyphosate becomes even more dangerous.

RoundUp kills weeds and grass extremely quickly but it is a short-term solution. When grass is killed, it is quickly replaced by weeds so that weed infestation increases because of the application of RoundUp. The quantity and type of weeds change, and become more and more invasive when RoundUp is used. Some parts of the world, in particular the USA are seeing the growth of "super weeds" which cannot be eradicated because they are so tough and they grow so fast. Weed growth increases because the type of weeds that grow in any area are a response to soil condition: the greater the imbalance of nutrients in the soil and the less organic matter it contains, the greater the weed problem.

Round up causes soil nutrients to be tied up leaving the soil more and more unbalanced. According to Don M. Huber, Eneritus Professor, Purdue University: "It is not uncommon to see the available of copper, cobalt, iron manganese, nickel and zinc deficiencies in soils to intensify in soils where RoundUp is applied. Glyphosate in soil and root exudates also stimulates oxidative soil microbes that reduce nutrient availability by decreasing their solubility for plant uptake, immobilize nutrients such as potassium and deny plant access to soil nutrients through pathogenic activity. Plant pathogens stimulated by glyphosate include ubiquitous bacterial and fungal, crown and stalk rotting fungi, vascular colonising organisms that disrupt nutrient transport and cause wilt and die-back and root-nibblers that impair access or uptake of soil nutrients."

Mineralisation of plant residues that have been killed by glyphosate release accumulated glyphosate into the soil in toxic concentrations that can kill whatever is planted subsequently. Plant death occurs through increased plant susceptibility to common soil-borne fungi such as Fusarium and Phytophthora that are stimulated by glyphosate applications.

Roundup kills weeds but it is not selective: it kills anything it contacts. It is also a potent micro-biocide. It is toxic to earthworms and mycorrhizae. It reduces the number of microbes that convert insoluble soil oxides to plant available forms, nitrogen-fixing organisms and organisms involved in the biological control of soil borne diseases that reduce root uptake of nutrients.

For many years Monsanto, the manufacturer of RoundUp claimed it was a bio-degradable substance but court cases in Europe have demonstrated consclusively that this claim is not true. RoundUp no longer has the word bio-degradable on its label.

Because it is not bio-degradable it:
* Persists and accumulates in soil and plants for many years.
* Accumulates in food and feed products to enter the food chain and it has been demonstrated that it is highly dangerous in terms of human health. Many scientific studies have been done which demonstrate this is a major concern.
* Can damage trees and shrubs planted following its use because it is taken up by these plants through their roots.
* Stimulates soil-born pathogens, thus reducing nutrient available.
* Inhibits nitrogen fixation.
* Increases mycotoxins in stems, straw, grain and fruit.
* Inhibits uptake and translocation of iron, manganese and zinc even when glyphosate is present at very low, non-herbicidal rates.

Professor Huber says: "Introduction of glyphosate, an intense mineral chelator, into the food chain through accumulation in feed, forage and food and by root exudation into ground water poses significant health concerns for animals and humans."

Bev Buckley. For more information visit learn more

Sharon & Shona

Recovering from heavy rain damage

Growing ginger video

Growing ginger

Growing Ginger

If you live in a sub-tropical area and can find a market for your produce, I highly recommend you grow ginger.

Ginger is a valuable crop. In 2010 we planted 8 rows of ginger in an area 75 metres square. During April and May we have sold 300 bunches of ginger for a total return of $1200. This is a good return considering the amount of land devoted to growing and the relatively small amount of labour needed. Of course costs for fertilizer, manure, mulch and water have to be taken into account. The total cost for these would not exceed $50. The biggest cost is for labour. Labour is required for preparing the land, keeping weeds under control, harvesting and preparing the ginger for sale.

The size, smell and taste of ginger depends to a large extent on the fertility of the soil in which it is grown and the amount of water that is available, so it pays to really build soil fertility and organic matter as a first step and water once a week if it doesn't rain.

Ginger is a very hungry plant so ensure the ground is well fertilized at least 2 - 3 months prior to sowing. Add lime, an all purpose fertilizer, compost and a generous amount of animal manure to the soil and leave it to break down before planting your crop. Cover with mulch to prevent weeds growing.

Plant ginger in spring using rhizomes from the previous year's crop. Store these in dry potting mix in a box somewhere dark. In spring they will start to shoot. Each root will have several growing points. Cut the root into pieces ensuring that each piece contains at least one growing point. Scrape the mulch away, place each root piece 5 cm deep and 15 cm apart. Cover with soil and mulch the planting area generously.

The ginger will emerge shortly after planting. Keep the growing area weed free and add more mulch as it is needed. Ginger is a hardy plant and will require little maintenance apart from occasional "housekeeping" to remove weeds. Water once a week and add liquid fertilizer twice during the growth period. Harvest when the leaves start to turn yellow. Use a fork to dig up the whole plant. Remove the roots and cut off the stems. Store in a cool, dry place.

Ginger is a valuable food because it contains potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese, silicon, vitamins B3 and B6. It also choline, pantothenic acid, citral, inosital, camphene and gingerol. It enhances digestion, stimulates appetite, alleviates headaches, colds and flu and reduces pain and swelling caused by rheumatoid arthritis. It reduces all symptoms associated with motion sickness and morning sickness during pregnancy.

Studies suggest that gingerols may inhibit the growth of colorectal cancer cells and kill ovanian cancer cells by inducing programmed cell death and cell self-digestion. Studies have also demonstrated that gingerols suppress production of pro-inflammatory compounds produced by cells in the lining of joints and joint cartilege.

Gingerols are also thought to be the reason why ginger reduces the pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and cause improvement of mobility for arthritis sufferers.

Ginger significantly inhibits the production of nitric oxide, a highly reactive nitrogen molecule that quickly forms a very damaging free radical called peroxynitrite. It also lessens the rate of depletion of glutathione, one of the body's most important internally produced anti-oxidants.

Apart from using ginger in cooking you can use it as a tea or to make lemonade. When making ginger tea place very finely slices in boiling water for 10 minutes. Add honey to sweeten. To make ginger lemonade combine grated ginger, lemon juice, honey and water.

Here's a recipe for a delicious ginger sauce.
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons of minced ginger in lemon juice, 1 bunch of coriander, 2 kaffir lime leaves, 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon of chilli powder, 40 ml of coconut milk, ½ teaspoon of turmeric and
3 tablespoons of fish sauce

Place onion, garlic, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, chilli powder and roots of coriander in a food processor and blend. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook blended ingredients for 5 minutes. Add coconut, turmeric, lime and fish sauce and simmer for a further five minutes. Add chopped coriander leaves and pour over chicken breasts.

Written by Bev Buckley For more information visit Growing Healthy

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.11-Growing Jerusalem Artichokes

Have you thought about growing Jerusalem artichokes in your garden?

Jerusalem artichokes are not well known in Australia but they definitely deserve to be. They grow as a tuber on a tall shrub-like plant, which has colourful yellow flowers. Artichokes are planted in spring and are harvested in autumn.

A 2 cm artichoke can produce 2 - 3 kilograms of delicious bulbous roots that are creamy yellow in colour. I planted artichokes about 20 cm apart in two rows that were 50 cm apart.

In 2010 I planted my first artichokes in a very shady area and was delighted with the size and quantity of artichokes I harvested. In 2011 I planted my first real crop in full sunlight, mulched the soil and did nothing more until harvest. This is a really easy crop to grow.

I have just harvested 120 kg of artichokes and sold most of them to Food Connect in Brisbane. Some were sold at our local, Green Shed market. It probably took less than half an hour to plant the artichokes, which I saved from the previous year's crop and stored in a box of dry potting mix. Harvesting artichokes is a bit like harvesting potatoes. It is fairly time consuming because, as well as digging them up, it is necessary to clean the artichokes and dry them. However I didn't mind doing this because from 10 sq metres of land, I grew 120 kilograms of artichokes, which sold for $5 per kilo. This gave me a return of $600, which isn't a bad return on about 6 hours' work. Food Connect have agreed to take my artichokes next year, so I will plant twice the area next spring.

Because Jerusalem Artichokes aren't often used in Australia here's a bit about how to cook them. I was totally surprised at how delicious they are so I've been experimenting a bit. I have found that artichokes are best friends with sage, thyme, butter, bay leaves, cream, breadcrumbs, cheese and anything smoked. They have a rich nutty flavour and can be eaten raw or cooked.

To make a delicious artichoke sauce that goes over pasta or rice, I sauteed 1 cup of very finely sliced artichokes in a mixture of oil and butter with a selection of onions, garlic, spring onions, capsicum, leeks and celery for about five minutes. I added 1 can of coconut milk and cooked for 20 minutes until the artichokes were soft. I believe I could have used water or milk instead of the coconut milk. I stirred 1 tablespoon of flour into a cup of water and added that to the artichoke mixture and continued to cook the mixture until it boiled. I then blended everything to make a creamy sauce, which I served over pasta. It would have been just as good with rice.

I've also made a thick, rich soup by boiling artichokes and potatoes until they were soft. I added my special mountain salt, ground pepper and bay leaves from my own tree. Wanting to serve a really delicious soup, I added some chicken stock and a cup of cream to the mixture and sprinkled it with some finely chopped parsley. That's a really delicious soup and it was so easy to make.

To serve as a vegetable side dish with steamed smoked trout, I sauted artichokes, garlic and onions in butter in a frying pan which has a lid. I turned them regularly until they were browned on both sides and then placed the lid on the pan and cooked for 25 minutes until they were soft.

Artichokes from the garden are a real taste sensation but beware: they're called fartichokes in some countries! I am reliably informed that this problem can be overcome by soaking the artichokes in milk before cooking.
Written by Bev Buckley
For more info go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/course1

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.10--lambing time

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.9--disease control

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.8.

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.7-composting

The reason I'm fanatical about soil health

I've just been reading a book called "Nutrition: the Good, the Bad and the Politics" by a Western Australian doctor Igor Tabrizian. I thoroughly recommend this book to you.

Reading this book inspired me to put up this post. Dr Tabrizian has realised that many health problems as diverse as panic attacks, painful menstrual cramps, blurred vision, ADHD and ADD, are caused by the basic chemical reactions that are occurring in the body. He says that the process that drives normal biochemistry to abnormal chemistry involves any combination of five factors: genetics, deficiency, excess, imbalance or toxins. This applies to the human body and well as the soil.

Soil health depends on the basic chemical reactions that are occurring and these are affected by genetics (soil origin), deficiency, excess, imbalance and toxins. For soil, genetics is equivalent to the rock from which the soil is formed. Different rocks contain different elements so the starting point for soil is the material from which that soil is formed.

I'm fanatical about soil health. I have spend years building soil health on our property. It has been an expensive exercise and we continue to do those things that are required to build nutrient levels, nutrient balance, and to provide a home for an enormous population of soil organisms. In consequence my own health has imroved over the time I have been involved in doing this. I'm rarely sick and I can do four or five hours of physical labour with no ill effects. That's not common for someone who has exceeded their quota of three score years and ten!

The reason I'm fanatical about what I do is that I strongly believe that good soil health is fundamental to good plant health which is fundamental to good human health. It seems obvious that someone who relies on food grown in impoverished soil is going to be deficient in the chemical elements required for good health.

That's the conclusion that Dr Tabrizian has come to. Diverse symptoms of ill health can be traced to deficiencies in one or more elements. He discovered that anxiety, muscle cramps, headached, insomnia and hypertension can be cured with magnesium. Immune deficiency problems are related to low levels of zinc as are hay fever, eczdema. insommnia.

So why aren't we being told these things? According to Dr Tabrizian "the truth is not being told to doctors because they are manipulated too cleverly to have any insight into the extent of the information shovelled to them. Most doctors are not aware of the amount of good research already undertaken in the field of molecular medicine." (p 12)

Similarly, most farmers rely on the advice given by agronomists and fertilizer representatives who are strongly influenced by the messages from BIG multinational chemical companies whose profits depend on being able to sell as much cheaply produced fertilizer as possible and then by selling the poisonous "rememdies" that are needed when crops become weed and insect infected.

Dr Tabrizian believes that governments and BIG business collude to keep the population at large slightly sick. The name of the game is to extract the maximum amount of profits and tax from the herd and then kill them off slowly" (p7). This is a frightening and extreme statement but other than total ignorance, it is the only viewpoint capable of explaining what is happening in our world today.

So what's to be done? Obviously, the ball is in our court. It is up to us to find out the truth by doing our own research and discovering things for ourselves but to go against conventional wisdome takes a degree of fanaticism. Going against conventional wisdom is what we do. It is what we teach. It is the reason we have published books, written training programmes, created this blog. The world is making us sick! Things need to change.

Written by Bev Buckley, For more information visit Growing Healthy

Five steps to maximize productivity of fruit & nut trees.

1. You need to plan & prepare the soil first if you want maximum productivity. Waiting till you plant is far too late! Ideally you need to prepare the land where you plan to plant fruit or nut trees at least one year before planting. This is because it takes a year to change the soil. You need to put the appropriate fertilizers in the right quantity on the soil a year before planting as it takes the soil life a year to break down into plant food. This means you need a soil test to determine what the mineral deficiencies or excesses are, what your pH is, what the level of organic matter is etc. Once you put the fertilisers on the soil you need to do two other things to complete the preparation: (i) add lots of mulch, preferably wood chips or wood mulch;(ii) add microbes and fungi spores to increase the soil’s wildlife.
2. Two to three months before planting, put in sprinklers in an irrigation system, probably two sprinklers per tree to ensure both sides of the tree will get the essential watering it needs when there is insufficient rain.
3. Once you have acquired the young tree(s) the day you plant there is one more step to do to ensure success. You need to soak the roots in a nutrient-rich solution to promote root growth. There are many suitable solutions available on the market but a good one contains NPK, fulvic acid and a kelp solution.
4. When you plant the tree, you need to dig a hole at least twice the diameter of the container the plant comes in. Do not use a posthole digger for this, as it would compact the soil and make it difficult for the young roots to grow and spread out. When you put the plant in the hole, you only need water and no fertilizer (as you should have all the fertilizer you need from step 1).In the area around the plant you need to put very friable quality soil or peat moss so that the roots can grow outwards easily.
5. The first seven weeks after planting are crucial; you need maximum root growth to achieve the eventual maximum above ground growth and productivity. These 7 weeks determine the eventual size and productivity of the tree. All that is needed in this period if you have prepared properly is water and loving care to ensure it is not harmed by the elements e.g if it is windy, stake the tree. After 7 weeks you can start a monthly program of adding liquid fertilizers. If you want great results, you should do a leaf test after 2 or 3 months and spray on the leaves what is indicated by the leaf test as needed. Once a year do a soil test to determine what granular fertilizers are needed to replace what has been leached out or removed by the trees.
Written by Geoff Buckley, partner in Growing Healthy. For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/. (511 words).

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.6

Maintaining Fruit and Nut Tree Orchards

I have had a couple of emails this past week from people who want to know how to maintain fruit trees when they are growing them in lawn areas. By coincidenge, the next video that will be posted on this site deals with this topic and you can see how we maintain our lime trees. For ease of maintenance we have planted them in groups of 30. They are now 3 years old and are growing well.

Barring accidents, which include such things as untimely hail storms or strong winds, the amount of fruit you will get from your fruit trees will be determined by the amount of food that the tree has available to it to create the fruit. If the soil is nutrient rich, well drained and has a high (10% or greater) level of organic matter, then the tree will produce an absolutele abundance as long as there is plenty of water and sunshine. Unfortunately most soils aren't as good as they should be so you have to make a habit of feeding your trees regularly - at least once every couple of months.

Soils are generally deficient in several minerals, have less than optimal organic matters and may be poorly drained or too sandy. My rule is that if I want my trees to produce, say, 100 kg of fruit per year, I will need to feed them the right amount of the food they need so that they can do this. If I value the tree's production at $4 per kilo, then my tree will give me $400 worth of fruit per year. So that it can do this, I give the tree 1/10 of the value of that fruit in the form of nutrients. This means I need to spend $40 per year on each of my trees. If you give your tree nothing, it will give very little in return.

I think an investment of $40 to get $400 worth of fruit is pretty good value, but the problem is that first you have to believe that the tree will give you the fruit and second you have to be prepared to make your investment before you reap the harvest!! Most people think it is sufficient to plant the tree and let nature look after the rest. Unfortunately, it generally doesn't work this way.

To feed your tree you can give it at least some of the following: blood and bone, lime, a really good all purpose fertilizer, molasses, boron, fish or kelp fertilizer, soft rock phosphate, silicon in the form of diatamaceous earth and lots of organic matter. Trees like to be fed regularly, so the rule is a little, often.

Don't dig around the trees. This damages the root systems. Cover the ground area with mulch keeps the weeds under control. Use cardboard to stop light getting to the weeds. Think of the area around your tree as a mulch pile and keep adding to it, remembering not to pile anything too close to the tree truck. Take your mulched area right out to the drip line of the tree so that you can mow right up to it. Weed the area by hand whenever necessary and pile the weeds back under the tree. Weeds make really good mulch.

The reason for not using weedicides around your fruit trees is that the weedicides kill the soils' micro-organisms. Through their root systems, your fruit and nut tree give out 50% of all the sugar they produce through the process of photosynthesis. The reasons they do this is to attract billions of fungi and bacteria to live around their roots. A tree must consider these microscopic creatures must be pretty important for them to give them so much of the food they create. If the trees consider them to be important, don't you think it might be foolish to use weedicides which kill those micro-organisms? All the orchardists I spoke to when writing my book "Transition Farms" told me that once they realised they had to stop using Roundup to control weeds, their whole farming operation improved significantly.

Growing fruit trees is not difficult but it does require on-going investment to keep the trees healthy and productive.

Written by Bev Buckley
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com

Organic farming is not for Sissies no.5

Organic farming is not for Sissies No.4

Organic farming is not for Sissies No.3

The Importance of Trace Elements

The current situation

Food produced by large-scale, conventional, commercial farming practices generally contains 3 major nutrients (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous) and 4 minor nutrients (boron, copper, manganese and molybdenum). These elements are generally monitored in agricultural soils. Three other nutrients (iodine, cobalt and selenium) are contained in our food if we eat meat. Iodine and cobalt come from salts licks provided to cattle, selenium is added to fortified chicken feed.

The bad news

The bad news is that living things need 72 biological elements for normal metabolic function, reproduction and maintenance of the immune system. From the studies of Mt Tamborine soils carried out by the Tamborine Mountain Local Producers’ Association, which sponsors the Green Shed Market, we know that calcium is generally deficient. Since calcium is required in every cell in our body it is vitally important. When food is grown on soils, which contain all 72 elements, it is healthy. Because it is healthy, plants grown in this soil are healthy. Insects and diseases do not attack. Insects are nature’s garbage disposal agents. Too often we choose to kill the insects and we eat the garbage. Disease is also nature’s way of eliminating those things that are not healthy, whether they are plants, animals or humans.
The food we eat is severely deficient in over 60 vitally important elements. Many practitioners of alternative medicine and a growing number of doctors believe that this is the cause of large numbers of physiological and mental diseases such as cancer, auto–immune disease, late onset diabetes, degenerative and chronic diseases, allergies and birth defects. Dr Carole Hungerford’s book “Good Health in the 21st Century” provides a sound scientific explanation of the thinking behind this claim. Her book won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award in 2006. Dr Hungerford rejects the routine cocktail of medications with their complicated interactions and side effects, and shows how to provide a chance for minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids to do their health giving work.

Trace elements are:
• Essential in the assimilation and utilisation of vitamins.
• An aid in digestion.
• A catalyst for hormones and enzymes.
• An aid in replacing electrolytes lost through perspiration.
• A protection against toxic reactions.
Reinstatement of trace elements in our soils eliminates all plant diseases, pest and insect attack. This eliminates the need for use of toxic agricultural chemicals, which are used with frightening frequency on our food.
On Tamborine Mountain we have proved that the claim of adding the full range of trace elements and balancing the major elements is the way to grow healthy crops. Customers at the Green Shed see the evidence and comment regularly on it. If this strategy can make a difference to plants, we ask the question: “Why don’t we use the same strategy to improve human health?”
Most research into trace elements seems to be done with the intention of finding out the effects of having too much of a particular trace element. There seems to be only a little work has been done to identify the beneficial role played by individual trace elements. Research has shown that:
• Chromium shortage may cause heart condition, disruption of the metabolism and diabetes,
• Indium stimulates metabolism,
• Molybdenum functions as a co-factor for a number of enzymes that catalyse important chemical transformations eg xanthine oxidase catalyses the breakdown of nucleotides to form uric acid which contributes to the anti oxidant capacity of the blood,
• Boron promotes bone and joint health. Adequate intake of boron in conjunction with magnesium helps prevent calcium loss and bone demineralisation in post-menopausal women. Anecdotal studies suggest boron may alleviate symptoms of osteoarthritis.
• Zinc deficiency is associated with anaemia, delayed growth, birth defects, spontaneous abortion, impaired sexual maturation, sterility, slow wound healing.
Reference: http://www.truehealth.org/
Some essential trace elements
Silver, aluminium, gold, boron, barium, beryllium, bismuth, bromine, niobium, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, chromium, caesium, copper, gallium, germanium, mercury, iodine, indium, iridium, lanthanum, lithium, molybdenum, osmium, lead, palladium, platinum, radium, rubidium, ruthenium, antimony, selenium, silicon, tin, strontium, tellurium, thorium, titanium, vanadium, zinc, zirconium.

Written by Bev Buckley, Growing Healthy
http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/

Farming is not for Sissies part two

Farming is not for sissies part one

Controlling pests and diseases

As a gardener, you have at your disposal a huge range of agricultural poisons to control the pests and diseases that are attacking your plants. At last count there were something like 74,000 registered man-made poisons and the vast majority of which were designed to fight pests and diseases in agriculture.
The downside of this approach is that a recent study of thousands of American schoolchildren showed that all of them had traces of one or more agricultural poisons in their bodies. You are told that these chemicals are safe, but the toxic smorgasbord of chemical used by many commercial farmers, has unintended and undesirable side effects, including poisoning the soil, water and soil micro-organisms.
Governments have an interesting method for determining the "safe" level of toxins in food. When actual levels become higher than the "recommended safe level" they increase it! The European Union has raised the legal daily limit of glyphosate (the active ingredient in most herbicides and weedicides) residue to 20mg per kilogram of food. This is sixty times higher than the limits recommended by the World Health Organization. The EPA in the United States has raised the legally acceptable level to 100 mg per kilogram of food. This is 10 times the level at which birth and reproductive anomalies have been observed in animals.
An interesting side effect that comes from using a chemical to control a pest is that the rich suite of biological compounds that plants naturally synthesise in order to protect themselves, are not produced. This reduces the flavour, nutritional value and even medicinal properties that plants offer because beneficial bio-chemicals have been replaced by toxic, man-made chemicals.
Most gardening books and magazines you read, place huge importance controlling disease and eliminating insects. Even the "organic gardening" advocates suggest companion planting and safe, non-toxic "natural" sprays.
You don't have to worry about poisons and insects when you have healthy, nutritionally balanced soil with a pH of 6.4.
Healthy soil produces healthy plants. Insects and diseases hate healthy plants. Healthy plants are full of minerals and sugars, which give insects alcohol poisoning. This makes sense when you realise that insects and diseases are nature's garbage disposal agents. They get rid of the rubbish! There's no prize for guessing who eats the rubbish when we eliminate the insects and diseases with poisons.
Even the scrub turkeys won't eat your vegetables when they are grown in healthy soil. I have a very frustrated scrub turkey. He ransacks the compost heap every day and regularly wanders through the garden in the forlorn hope that there will be something to eat. He never does any damage. He brings friends occasionally. They don't stay. There is nothing to eat! Hares occasionally eat the carrot tops. This tells me that in that part of the garden, I've not got the soil balance quite right.
Plants have defence systems to fight against insect attack and disease. This may take the form of thick skin on fruit, or spines or hairs on the plants. It may involve feedback systems of bio-chemical pathways, which operate in a similar way to our immune system. An external cue, such as an insect sting, prompts a cascade of responses that triggers the production of bio-chemicals. These deter or kill invading pests. This response takes only minutes in a healthy plant but unhealthy plants do not have adequate energy resources to activate their defences. To ensure we have healthy plants we need to maximise soil health including soil life diversity including the billions of microbes and fungi that provide food to the plants. Kelp, rotted animal manures and plant compost, microbe food such as carbon and inoculations of microbes using compost teas all help to build a diverse soil micro-organism population.
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com

Why most food we eat today is lacking in nutrients.
(What the result is and what to do about it).

There are five major reasons:

Earth and the human body are made up from 92 elements. These are however not spread evenly around the world. Gold does not occur everywhere. Selenium which has been shown to combat cancer and AIDS is almost non-existent in Australia’s soils. Water, which consists of hydrogen and oxygen, is on 70% of the earth’s surface and the body is 70% water, but water is relatively scarce in Australia when there are floods in other parts of the world. Thus the elements needed to grow nutritious fruit and vegetables are not always present in the soil. Plants cannot create them. The result is that while broccoli is considered generally a highly nutritious vegetable, in practice its nutrient content depends on the particular soil it was grown on. If an element is not in the soil it won’t be in the fruit or vegetable. Either this fact is not commonly understood or people are choosing to ignore it.

Conventional or “industrialised” farming methods produce over 90% of our food using large quantities of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and man-made chemical fertilisers that are both toxic and generally contain only a few of the 92 natural elements. Since World War Two the so-called “green revolution” has advocated N-P-K fertilisers, which as the name suggests primarily contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Calcium, magnesium and all the multitude of trace elements which have been proven to be necessary for a healthy balanced soil and nutritious food have been ignored.

For this reason the quality of the world’s farmlands has been declining steadily since the 1950s and organic matter has been destroyed by all the ever increasing quantities of toxic chemicals used in conventional farming. Organic matter 50 to 60 years ago used to average 5% of our soils. Today they average 1 to 1.5 %. What was once live soil full of billions of microbes, bacteria, worms and fungi is becoming dead soil. Industrial farming methods lead to soil erosion, salinization, desertification and loss of soil fertility. Chemical farming does however produce large quantities of food. Unfortunately quality has been forgotten. Conventional farming practices produce fruit, vegetables, grains and meats which contain only 20% of the nutrients compared to food produced over 60 years ago.


2. Did you know that tomatoes are our most popular food and they are typically sprayed with six chemicals every three days of their life? Another reason that our food is being ruined is in its processing, storage, transport and preparation. All four of these steps remove most of the nutrients left. Nutrient content generally declines over time, so buying food transported round the world and imported defeats the purpose if you are looking for food as a source of nutrition. Why buy food transported thousands of miles from California or even WA, Tasmania or Victoria to Queensland? It makes sense to buy food grown locally and best of all in your own garden where you know what goes into it. Remember good food tastes better.

3.Tinned and processed foods generally have preservatives in them to extend the shelf-life and kill microbes and bacteria. Many processes remove enzymes and nutrients. Preservatives’ job continues in the human body when you eat these foods i.e. the preservatives kill microbes and bacteria in your body. These “bad guys” that are being killed are really “good guys” in terms of digestion. Your intestines are supposed to have billions of them to properly digest the food you eat so that you can absorb any nutrients in the food. When we kill them, we get sick. We get stomach pains, indigestion, cancer, inflammation, flatulence and constipation. Today one of the biggest growth areas in the medical industry is looking after digestion problems.

With bought foods you get hundreds of different additives, flavourings and colourings. There are over 74,000 man-made chemicals used in commerce with about 2000 new ones being added each year. There are only 92 elements that make up the earth and the human body. So how is our body going to recognize over 74,000 new ones and how can we expect it to deal with them? Whether we are aware of it or not, we are being constantly bombarded by a host of chemical toxins which are affecting our health. The most insidious of these are the ones sold to us as “food”. In the book “The Chemical Maze” by Bill Statham it says “Researchers found that hundreds of individual chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides are pumped back and forth from the mother to the foetus through the umbilical cord blood. In total, the body’s blood had 287 chemicals including 209 never before detected in the blood of a foetus. Some of these chemicals can be harmful even at extremely low levels. For example only 5 parts per billion of PCBs in maternal blood during foetal development can cause adverse brain development and attention and IQ deficits, which appear to be permanent.”
Packaged foods have a series of codes on the labels that list the “non-food” content in what we are buying. How do you find out what the numbers refer to and which are harmful? This is the value of the book “The Chemical Maze”. It lists 296 additives (including the 25 that are allowed in Australian foods but are banned in countries overseas), rates them and details health problems that they may cause.
One would expect that a cereal bar, sold as a school lunch box food by a well known cereal manufacturer, would be beyond reproach. The reality is somewhat different from the image of wholesomeness, health and vitality which this company promotes in its advertising. This particular cereal bar contains seven chemicals described as numbers 492, 322, 171,102, 133, 124 and 472e. There is no indication as to what these numbers represent which makes the information worse than useless.
Both 124 and 133 originated as coal tar dyes. Additive no. 102 is “Tartrazine” and is thought to cause problems associated with asthma, headaches, concentration problems, depression, learning difficulties, behavioural problems, insomnia, confusion and on and on. These additives are banned in countries overseas and are thought to be carcinogenic.
It is not surprising that the company that manufactures this “food” lists the additives it uses in a type size that is so small that it takes a magnifying glass to read it.

4. Our cooking methods strip our foods of a large proportion of vitamins and minerals. Canned and highly processed foods are even more seriously depleted.
To digest our food we need enzymes. Most of these are manufactured by the pancreas. Food enzymes are also present in many raw foods. However all enzymes are deactivated at temperatures above 65 degrees Celsius. A diet composed exclusively of cooked foods puts a severe strain on the pancreas, resulting in a shorter lifespan, illness and lowered resistance to stress of all kinds. Dr Edward Howell, an enzyme expert, points out that humans on a diet made up largely of cooked food have enlarged pancreas organs while other glands and organs, especially the brain, actually shrink in size.
Most processed foods have few enzymes left. Pasteurised milk has had the enzymes killed. Raw milk has in it the enzymes necessary for the human body to be able to take up its calcium.
The type of cooking makes a big difference to the end result in terms of nutrient content. Steaming is much better than boiling. Frying, barbecuing and micowaving are all bad. Raw food is best of all, so eat a lot of fresh fruit and salads.

5.Microwaves are in most homes in the developed countries. Microwaves are used in most restaurants, cafes, milkbars and fast food outlets to warm food up. Did you know that microwaves were banned in the USSR back in 1976 when their economy had no companies and lobbyists to influence government—instead they listened to their scientists. In microwaves atoms, molecules and cells are subjected to massive doses of electromagnetic radiation to reverse polarity billions of times per second. Structures of molecules are torn apart and deformed generating new compounds previously unknown. A Swiss study in 1992 showed changes in the blood and a decrease in red blood cells consuming microwaved food. In particular there were significant decreases in nutritional value of all micowaved foods.

What is the result of this loss of nutrients?
The food we eat has lost much of its good taste, so we saturate it with sugar and salt.
This further contributes to the increasing rate of ill health and obesity.
One of the results of this loss of nutrients is the loss of taste and flavour.
It is often commented that while fruits and vegetables today are beautiful in appearance, they have lost the flavour they once had. Those who grow their own in soil that is rich soon appreciate the now rare superior flavour of produce that is grown with respect for the earth and its balance. As well as enjoying the delicious flavour of such fruits and vegetables, they also reap a harvest in health. There is a close connection between flavour and wealth in minerals: the fewer the minerals, the weaker the flavour.


Solution:
Dr. Linus Pauling, the only person to win two Nobel Prizes on his own, said all illnesses and diseases can be traced to mineral deficiencies. Dr. Willem Serfontein said: “Almost all diseases and afflictions, both mental and physical, can be traced back to nutritional deficiencies. The answer to optimal physical and mental health therefore lies in harnessing the power of nutrition.”
The world has an epidemic of health problems with increasing rates of cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart problems. Nutrient-rich food without herbicides and pesticides is the solution, but nearly all the world’s research is focussed on finding patentable drugs to sell to help alleviate the symptoms.
There is finally a reluctant acceptance that if you eat organic food you will live longer and in better health. A major study funded by the European Union concluded that organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce and that it may help to lengthen people’s lives.

So the solution on a world-wide scale is to switch from conventional farming practices to organic or biodynamic farming methods. This would have several major benefits:
the food we eat would be more healthful, lowering the escalating cost of the world’s “health” system;
there would be a significant reduction in the release of CO2 into the atmosphere by farmers as organic matter levels in the soil increase instead of decreasing; as organic matter levels drop CO2 is released whereas if organic matter increases CO2 is absorbed back into the soil.
There would be less usage of oil in both farm equipment and fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. This would extend the life of remaining oil or lower its price.
On a personal scale if you grow your own food you will be healthier and fitter. You may well also save money or make money if you sell surplus produce as food prices are very likely to continue to rise. You can also consider taking digestive food enzyme supplements prior to eating cooked food.
Written by Geoff Buckley. http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/

New emerging trends in health and food.

As oil reserves are depleted…
As the world population increases…
As climate changes worsen…
As food shortages become more common…
As our soils become less productive…
As the nutritional content of our food decreases…
As our health deteriorates….

Major change has to happen soon and
three emerging trends will become clearer, namely

We will need to grow more of our own food locally in our home gardens and in community gardens, because of increasing transport costs and the diminishing number of farmers and productive land to farm (the average age of farmers in the UK is already 60; the major trend to bigger and bigger cities uses more and more land; farming used to be a major employer; agriculture used to employ more than 40% of the workforce, now it is down to 3%; farming skills have been lost).

Farmers will have to reduce their dependency on oil, diesel, man-made chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Conventional farming is the major contributor to CO2 emissions causing organic matter levels to plummet. There will be a greater emphasis on fruit and vegetables, nuts and berries rather than cereals, grains and meat; this will come about partly because small acreage is far more productive and profitable than big farms and diversity increases production; large farms have tended to specialise on one or two crops or animals and have become dependent on transport and export markets; gardens are more productive per square metre than farms. Unemployment will also encourage more people to start growing their own food. Meats and animal products are extremely resource intensive, requiring enormous amounts of water, food and fossil fuels to produce. The widespread consumption of meat is not ecologically sustainable. Plants become even more important.

Our existing health system (Doctors & Hospitals) will collapse, because

v The cost is rising too fast to be sustainable (worsened by the financial crisis),
v Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other problems are escalating,
v The population is ageing.
This will eventually cause a major refocus on prevention rather than treating symptoms, and a recognition that the primary cause of health problems is a deficiency in minerals in our diets.

The major common trend in all three of the above is for all families and individuals to start growing their own food without using herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals i.e. growing organically increasing the organic matter in the soil with compost and focussing on growing food with high nutritional content. This will overcome the mineral deficiencies and reverse the health crisis, start reducing CO2 emissions, reduce the dependency on oil, increase food production solving food shortages and starvation. Even the White House has already started a vegetable garden in 2009!Written by Geoff Buckley. For more visit http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/

Weed Control

Weed Control.

Two organic weed control strategies are:
* the heavy use of mulch reduces weed growth significantly.
* remove weeds before they go to seed.
The key thing is that most of us realize is that herbicides are expensive and cause harm to people, plants,animals, birds, water & soil life. We used to think we had a real weed problem until we visited one of Australia's largest organic farms where we were told that their wages bill for people to weed was over $125,000 per year. They pull out weeds by hand with teams of "weeders". After learning that, our weed problems faded into insignificance.Weeding is a chore. There's absolutely no doubt about that. Weeds are probably the organic gardener's greatest enemy. They use up nutrients, and smother plants. If allowed to go to seed, they proliferate with amazing speed. But what you need to understand about weeds is that when they are a real problem it is a sign that vital nutrients are missing. The purpose of weeds is nutrient recycling. With long roots, they bring up nutrients from deep down in the soil. Pull them up and use them, as nutrient-rich mulch.Particular weeds definitely grow in response to the structure, texture and fertility of the soil. For example, where there is a calcium deficiency there are millions of dandelions and "farmers friends". Many weeds grow best in poor, infertile soil, since the basic cause of most weed problems is wrong soil conditions. So the best organic weed control system is to learn how to build healthy balanced soil and to maintain it. Part of this is developing the soil food web(bacteria,fungi,worms) to improve the soil structure and indirectly help fight weeds by helping crop plants grow better.
Some plants & trees have enough leaves to restrict weed growth. The best organic weed control strategy is to plant vegetables closely together so that they shade the ground. You can do this when you have very high levels of nutrients and organic matter in the soil.Some small-scale commercial farmers use plastic sheeting or old carpeting to control weeds but this is a problem in that they stop sunlight, water and fertilizer from penetrating and without these, the soil dies. Carpets have poisons that leach into the soil.One of our key organic weed control strategies is to use cardboard and newspapers covered in mulch between my rows of vegetables and fruit trees. Both these substances break down over time and add cellulose, a natural wood-based substance, to the soil so that mulching has a dual purpose: it stops weeds and it add organic matter to the soil.The good news is that as the mineral balance and organic matter levels in the soil improve, weeds become less of a problem and easier to pull out. Composting, mulching and worm trenching are the other main organic weed control strategies I use which, at the same time, build organic matter. To summarise the best strategies for organic weed control are:
Remove weeds before they go to seed
Build the soil organic matter
Build soil nutrient level and ensure all the elements are present and in the correct balance
Use cardboard, newspaper and mulch to shut out light
Pull out weeds when they are small and loosen soil around plants to disturb the roots of newly emerging weeds.
Make sure your compost is properly aerated, moistened and hot enough to kill all weed seeds and pathogens.
Don’t throw away weeds: use them as mulch; they contain the missing nutrients you need to improve your organic soil.
Learn to enjoy your weeds!! Weeding can actually be a very meditative and soothing process if you allow yourself to let go the judgement around weeds. In the Healthy Growing programme you will find some fascinating insights into the role of weeds in restoring soil fertility and balance. Weeds actually have a very important role in nature. For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com

Secrets of fertilising

Secrets of Fertilising.

Your role is to maintain the level of organic matter; mainly by supplying mulch and compost. You also feed the soil-life natural elements (eg calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon and boron) and they convert these into plant food.

There are three ways to fertilise:

1.Granules on the ground—this is the most important and essential method. Granules have the best longterm impact in that they can affect a change in the soil balance and pH. However it may take up to a year for that impact to take effect, as the granules have to first be converted into plant food by the wild life living in the organic matter in the soil.

2.Liquid fertiliser on the ground--- this has a much quicker impact on the plant but has less longterm impact. It can be done quickly and efficiently with a fertigation system built into the irrigation system.

3.Foliar spray onto the leaves---this is the quickest way to affect the plant and the fruit or vegetable. It is almost immediate in its impact and is therefore an excellent way to improve the size and quality of the current crop. You do a leaf analysis to identify any deficiencies and can correct them straightaway.

It is therefore recommended that:
(i) a spray unit for foliar spraying of nutrients be used, and
(ii) a fertigation system be added to the irrigation system for effective and efficient fertilising with liquid fertilisers (obtainable from Nutri-Tech).

N.B. It is highly desirable to use all three of the above methods. Whilst many people only do number one, this does not take into account the fact that different crops take different elements out of the soil in varying quantities and heavy rain can leach many minerals during the year. Vegetables have a much shorter cycle than fruit trees and to save a crop or to ensure that it is good quality, size and quantity you need to keep feeding plants frequently. Like humans they benefit from regular feeding in small amounts, not large amounts infrequently.

What do you fertilise with:
What your soil test identifies as necessary
What your leaf tests identify as necessary.
Compost
Microbes and fungi.
Basic equipment needed: watering can and maybe a backpack
Desirable equipment: sprinklers and a fertigation unit.
For more information go to www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com

Why you should grow your own food

Why you should grow your own food.

One of the reasons for growing vegetables and/or is that food prices are rising dramatically; in fact in 2010 we have already seen some significant price rises and food shortages. Here in S.E.Queensland I have seen the price of onions rise from $20 per 20 kilogram bag to $80. Partly this is the result of a very wet season, which can be explained by climate change extremes which aren’t going to settle down any time soon. Organically grown carrots were unobtainable in this region for nearly six months. We are now being paid wholesale prices of $9 per kilogram for organically grown beans. Last year we received just $5. This is an 80% increase in just 12 months. What other investments have risen that fast?
The world population is already 6.5 billion and is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. There is a finite amount of land and water and already many people are dying of starvation and more have little water; the situation can only get worse.
All agriculture depends on oil but conventional agriculture depends to a massive extent on huge quantities of oil and gas for transport, harvesting, cultivation, fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides. As oil reserves decline, prices of oil will rise further and faster. If you need to be persuaded that Peak Oil is a reality, there is one set of statistics that is totally convincing. In the 1960’s the world consumed 4 billion barrels of oil per year and the average rate of discovery annually, was around 30 billion barrels. Now, we consume 30 billion barrels of oil per year and the discovery rate is approaching 4 billion barrels of crude per year. Oil reserves are diminishing but developing countries like China & India are using more and more oil and gas and most westernized countries are still addicted to oil. This guarantees that the oil price will rise and that there will soon be shortages of oil & gas. Food prices will rise even more steeply than they have already as this happens. As oil prices rise farmers have no choice but to start switching to organic farming methods that use less oil. Many do not know how to do this and the degradation of soil that has occurred with chemical farming practices will make it impossible to do within a short time frame.

I believe everyone should grow some of their own food: because
*this activity connects you to nature
*makes you healthier through working outdoors with fresh air, sunshine & exercise
*contributes greatly to making a life worth living
* you can make a living growing in a small space
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .

What you need to know to make big money planting vegetables.
What if climate change, peak oil and escalating world population cause increasing food shortages and escalating food prices? Growing your own food reduces the risks for you and your family & friends. Planting vegetables now is increasingly important. Selling surplus food is a reliable way to make money. We provide a step by step plan to maximize your income from growing.

The key factors that affect profitability when planting vegetables, fruit, herbs, nuts and berries are:
1.Your choice of crops is fundamental to your financial success.
2.The market demand for the crops you select and your ability to reach that market.
3. Marketing crops is just as important as in any business and choosing the right marketing strategy is crucial.
4. You need to be able to grow the crops.
5. Your climate and growing season make a big difference.
6. Costs e.g. mulch, fertilizers, watering, composting, transport, electricity, packing….. In most countries however the biggest cost is labour. Here the less developed countries like India, China and Africa have a big cost advantage.

Actual examples of planting vegetables to make money.

Some crops are hugely more profitable than others e.g. most fruit trees have only one crop every 12 months—but not all of them! Planting vegetables can be amazingly rewarding e.g. we pick rhubarb from the one plant every 5 or 6 weeks giving us 8 crops a year from each plant! There are other vegetables we pick even more times a year. Temperature has a major impact on growth—too hot or too cold stops growth dead in its tracks for most plants. So if you are in an area that gets extreme hot temperatures (over 30 degrees C) you can improve production by planting vegetables in a shadehouse in the summer. Depending on the size of the area you grow in this can be a small homemade device with cloth draped over wood or plastic poles or a large walk in shadehouse with sprinklers. If you live in cold climates that get frosts or snow, then you can improve productivity and lengthen your growing season by planting vegetables in a greenhouse in the winter. Another recommendation is to choose crops with the shortest time from planting to maturity because time and cashflow are major factors in profitability. So how about these:

Radish 6 to 7 weeks from planting to maturity

Buttonsquash 7 weeks

Zucchini 7 to 8 weeks

Silver beet 8 weeks

Broccoli 9 to 10 weeks

Carrots 10 to 11 weeks
The exact time will vary slightly with different varieties and the weather. Clearly with a short growing period like these crops above, you can be planting vegetables several times a year. This demonstrates vividly why good information in planting vegetables makes a huge difference to the results you achieve. Planting vegetables to make money needs to be addressed as a business; as we have seen there are many factors affecting your success. We can show you the way based on years of practical experience.
For more information go to http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/

How to measure the quality of your soil.
By Geoff Buckley
The most common measure of soil quality is the pH and this is a good general indicator but does not tell you what to do if the pH is too low or too high. Soil pH can also vary during the crop cycle by as much as a whole point. To find out what to do to correct the health and balance of your soil you really need a soil test that identifies the mineral deficiencies and excesses. There are 92 elements that make up the earth (and the human body) and plants cannot create them if they are not in the soil, so your fruit, vegetables and herbs will lack nutrients that are not in the soil they are grown in. Ideally you need to do a soil test once a year because different plants take out different amounts of each nutrient and the rain and watering can leach out some minerals.
There are two other measures of the quality of your soil that are worth knowing and a good soil test will provide you with these. The first is the level of organic matter in the soil. Historically this used to average 5% but with the advent of the so-called “green revolution” after world war 2, the soils in both the USA & Australia have been degraded and now are commonly only 1.5%. The reason for this degradation is the heavy use of herbicides, pesticides and man-made chemicals which has destroyed the soil’s organic matter. With commercial monoculture systems there is little use of mulch and compost which build the level of organic matter. With regular use of mulch and compost matter you can build up the organic matter in your soil; for example my soil measures over 10% organic matter.
One of our major banks decided they needed a good indicator of whether to make a safe loan to farmers. After much research they came up with the fact that the best measure was the level of organic matter in the farm’s soil !
The other less well known measure of the quality of soil is the CEC or Cation Exchange Capacity. This measure tells you the capacity of the soil to store nutrients. Sandy soil typically has a CEC of only 2 to 4. Heavy clay soils can be as high as 40 to 60. To improve your CEC there are two quick and easy ways. By adding humus or humates or humic acid you can raise the CEC level because humus has a CEC of 250 and humic acid has a CECof 450. The other way is to use fulvic acid which has a CEC of 1400!! I put fulvic acid in all my liquid fertilizers and in all my foliar sprays.
With all these numbers how do you know what a healthy balanced soil looks like? Professor Albrecht spent his life studying and analyzing soils from all round the world and he came up with the standard which shows that calcium, magnesium and potassium are the most significant elements in terms of quantity. Other elements such as silica, boron and phosphorus are critical but are needed in very small amounts. This is a surprise to many as NPK (nitrogen. phosphorus and potassium) is the most common fertilizer.
Under optimal conditions, soil organic levels are high and there is a large varied population of soil micro-organisms. Nitrogen is a very important element but under these conditions plants use the nitrogen that is freely available in large quantities from the air (which is 70% nitrogen) but which has to be converted to plant available form by soil organisms. There is no need to add nitrogen.
Conclusion: building and maintaining a healthy, balanced soil is an ongoing process, and you really need an annual soil test which should provide all three of the above measures i.e. pH, CEC and the level of organic matter.For more information visit Growing Healthy

Hi,
My name is Geoff Buckley. I live in SE Queensland in Australia and have a partner in marriage and in business called Bev. We both love gardening and have been gardening here for the past 16 years. We now teach others how to grow their own food. We grow 60 different crops organically, 40 vegetables, 10 herbs and 10 fruit, berries and nuts. Our business name is Growing Healthy. We write books about gardening and farming and teach others how to grow their own organic food and how to run a business growing crops.
Our website is http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com/ .