Mineral Depletion of Soil

THE MINERAL DEPLETION OF POST GLACIAL SOIL

Feeding the soil with minerals, to the Organic vegetable gardener, usually
means putting waste organic matter, (stems, stalks & leaves which we
did not eat), back into the soil. But, if the vegetable matter is grown in
mineral-poor ground, what does this ultimately mean for the long term
future of our soils and subsequent crops?

HOW DID MINERALS GET INTO THE SOIL?
When the last Ice Age receded, leaving behind the ground down remains
of rocks, decaying animal & vegetable matter slowly combined with it
over the millenia to produce humus and soil rich in minerals. We are at the
end of an interglacial period and these minerals in the soil have been
slowly used up, resulting in present day mineral depletion levels
averaging 70% over the last 50 years alone. Delta land, fed by rivers,
makes exceedingly fertile farming land because the minerals washed
down from the mountains or hinterland are continuously replenishing
minerals taken up by plants. Of course, meats are also affected since
the animals are fed on mineral defficient crops. Ask any farmer why he
feeds his animals supplements, if their grazing/silage is supposed to be
satisfactory, and he will probably say 'Because the animals need it'.
Farmers are not usually inclined to spend money without reason!

WARNING BELLS.
As far back as 1894 Dr. Julius Hensel wrote 'Bread from Stones', the
first book on this subject. He argued that plants grown on mineralised
soils were stronger and more nutritious and that the increasing power of
the fertiliser industry was masking mineral deficiencies. A chiropractor,
David Thomas, recently carried out a review on data published by the
MRC (Medical Research Council), The Min. of Ag. & Fisheries, and by
two authors of the Royal Society of Chemistry - R.A.McCance &
E.M.Widdowson. The review is called 'A Study of the mineral depletion of
the foods available to us a a nation over the period 1940 to 1991'.
Anyone interested in further details might like to look
atwww.organicgarden.org.uk/min_dep_report.pdf
The conclusions from this report make grim reading: 39% sodium, 72%
copper, 59% zinc (crucial to people's behaviour & attentivness), etc.
etc., all losses during the short period 1971-1991. Should we be eating
50 pieces of fruit & veg daily! As this is government-produced
information, why are they not informing us of the dire state of our soils?
Although we appear to be eating more than enough quantities of macro-
nutrients (Fats, carbohydrates & protein) no-one mentions the vital micro
-nutrients (minerals & trace elements) that are essential to our physical &
mental health. Please don't get me wrong; no-one with non-addictive
habits in the Western world is dying from vitamin or mineral deficiency;
R.D.A. levels are calculated to prevent deficiency diseases. The real
questions are 'what is required for optimal health?' and 'what is optimal
health?'

SOLUTIONS.
Gardener & journalist Colin Shaw, writing in The Organic Way magazine
(the formerly-named Henry Doubleday Research Association, of Ryton
on Dunsmore) was impressed by the quality of organic vegetables, grown on
very thin soil over a rocky base on a wind-swept barren Scottish hillside,
at The SEER Center, Pitlochrie. The soil was so poor that it had to be
manufactured using municipal compost & rock dust, a quarrying by-
product, 4:1 by volume. Of his visit there in late July, he comments "there
were large & tasty strwaberries, the garden was in full bloom...amazing
to see such a healthy, productive garden in such a hostile location".
The rock dust came from basalt quarries and is a quarrying waste
product known as 'quarry fines'. Analysis by the SEER Center showed
around 70 minerals present and is the best rock to use, although any
source of volcanic rock is acceptable.

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING....
Colin tried this method (1 bucket rock dust to 1 barrow of compost) on
his own thin-soiled, newly acquired, garden in Derbyshire, building
raised beds of the mixture. To his delight, the resultant crops were
strong, healthy, disease-free, with no sign of beans blackfly all the
summer. He states that other research has shown that the effect builds
up over the years and is looking forward to years 2 & 3 with interest.
Even as a grower of organic vegetables,
I regularly suffer from broadbean black spot & aphid damage, I shall
be trying this method as soon as I can!

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