UNDERSTANDING BASIC SOIL NUTRIENTS

WHAT should the farmer know about basic elements that the soil needs and the plant uses?

Contrary to some popular opinion, farming is the "oldest profession." Unfortunately, over the centuries, as the human population increased, man continued to look away from his Creator to his own accomplishments represented by the increasing urbanization. The more man accumulated in cities, the more he began to depend on himself for wisdom and knowledge. Centers and philosophies of learning began to develop until the net result produced principles of wisdom based upon the pooling of humanistic intelligence. This mentality has resulted in humans thinking that the only source of "true" education exudes from the complex system of urban academia.

A "caste system of intelligence" has put the individual, educated by continual encounters with the laws and principles of the natural world, at the bottom. The "laws of nature being but the habits of God" are, in reality, the most profound and complete text and classroom that has ever existed. You, the farmer, are at the focus point of this learning environment. You are at the pinnacle of potential for understanding how to effect the total well being of yourself, your family, your farm, and the world. You can have more impact on the health of the world than all the health institutions and practitioners that ever have or ever will exist.

All life on this planet is dependent on drawing its energy force originally from its Creator, and secondly, its nourishment from the soil upon which God placed it. The quality of nourishment is a direct result of the quality of the food substance consumed and the efficiency of the system digesting it. In plants, we see that the only way to know if quality is present is whether or not the carbohydrate (sugar) content is at the optimum level. The higher the carbohydrate (sugar) content of the fruit or vegetable, the higher the quality in mineral and oil content. Raising high quality foods is only accomplished by good understanding, planning, and implementation of principles of soil and plant chemistry.

Unfortunately, the average farmer or person thinks that when a substance is called a fertilizer, it must be OK for the soil and will make it more healthy and fertile. They reason that most farmers produce "good crops" in their estimation. And that in order for a bean to be a bean, it has to have certain nutrients available. So, if a bean grows, everything must have been there that was necessary.

If you are to farm successfully, you cannot succeed on those assumptions. There are many commonly-used fertilizers and soil amendments that can actually harm and destroy the soil and its ability to support life. You cannot afford for that to happen if you are to continue husbanding the soil. You need to know what you are putting on your soil and how it is interacting with the soil and the plants it is affecting.

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