Soils

[Guest guest]

Dr. Bhate,

 

I just read your post of a few days ago about soils. I agree that you cannot

divorce Ayurveda from soils and the environment, etc. Ayurveda means "science

of life" so it is all encompassing even though the original tenets were somewhat

restricted, they can be expanded for the times and situations. There is a

movement occurring in No. American and Europe and Australia and maybe other

place also. It is a means in which the soil can be make more "alive" and

fertile by using aerated compost tea. The key word is "aerated" This helps

replenish the bacteria, fungi, nematodes and other organisms that are needed for

soil to fluorish. Probably the person at the forefront of this is Dr. Elaine

Ingham, who is a soil biologist. She started a company which analyzes soils and

informs their clients to use certain types of compost to amend their soils with

the right living organisms and minerals. I am not a client of her company but

she has a lot of good info on her site and she has a great

book on compost tea. People can make their own compost tea maker by looking at

her site.

 

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/03_about_us/brief_bio.html

 

GB Khalsa

 

How can we simulate the soils found in the natural habitats of

medicinal plants? What is the best food for the soil? We can answer

this question by looking at how nature produces it, how it

is `cooked' in the forests and on the land. Plant and animal

residues, moisture, and air are broken up by fungi, bacteria and

small animals over a long period of time to produce the best food:

humus - a full and balanced meal for the soil. Humus can be produced

by composting. `Compost' means exactly what the word indicates,

a `compound', a `composite' of substances, a `composition' of

elements. It is very rich and has all the nutrients a plant wants:

nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, calcium and sulphur, as well as over

twenty trace elements. It consists of amino-acids, growth promoters,

natural antibiotics, humic acids, and millions of beneficial

bacteria, fungi, earthworm eggs, and so forth. Humus is the reserve

food of millions of soil organisms. A soil with the appropriate

amount and quality of humus enables plants to grow to their best

potential. In short, humus is a concentrate of life forces, the basis

for life, the sustenance of vegetation and thus for life on this

planet, including human beings.