With all bio-life, health begins with complete nutrient content of the food supply in so-called "Balance" of the ratio between all nutrients in the food supply. An alternate expression of this is that the food living creatures depend on for their life must have their nutrient contents in ratios to each other and to the total nutrient content that the life form is designed to have and maintain its best health with.
In contrast, when soil has plants removed from it the nutrients those plants contain disappears to the soil, and when they are not replenished in like amount the soil nutrient "Balance" is altered and depleted when insufficient nutrient is replaced, or deficient when nothing is replenished, or in a few cases, overloaded when too much is replenished. This all goes into producing and maintaining food production soils that sustain and provide good health to their own host of small creatures and soil fauna residing in them, and the plants that have their roots feeding from the soils.
About Your Natural Garden focuses on any and all things healthy and not so healthy about soils relative to people and animals, and plants. We're about reaching out to the entire "Library" of Natural Health wherever there is sound evidence of any pro or con issue relative to soil nutrition that supplies plants, animals and people their individual best nutrients in the required balance for each living organism.
Many things presented are unique to their respective provider(s). One source for all this "Library" is not only a flawed concept, it is a dangerous one in that one source is easily contaminated with bias, forces of nefarious powers that are determined to use good to cause harm, and the always-present likelihood that the single source is missing out on vital material(s).
To this end of providing global resource for knowing, understanding and applying "Balanced" soil nutrients anywhere on Planet Earth, there is a very large "Library" reference guide included throughout the site. There is an Index to find these in context with the material(s) where they appear, and a somewhat logical order of where they are placed in this material. For instance, here is a starting place for this entire site's focus on soil nutrient "Balance;"
http://www.soilminerals.com/information.htm
The people behind this best of kind soil nutrition science are dedicated to the improvement of soil living organisms, plants and animals' food nutrition, and the balanced nutrition contained in the plant and animal foods we people consume and trust for our own nutrient balance and health.
Another base nutrient information resource we turn to is . . .
http://www.apsnet.org/publications/apsnetfeatures/Pages/SoilEcosystemManagement.aspx
To do the first one due credit, here is the experience one customer of the soil book offered there shares . . .
We had an amazing year, our first year gardening in the Methow Valley of north central Washington State. The color and vividness of the vegies was eye-catching for visitors to my garden. But the most exciting result was a mid to late summer outbreak of grasshoppers of all kinds, including in our surrounding pastures and alfalfa fields. In fact, they were found on the pathways surrounding the 2000 sf garden that I did the soil amendments on. None of our plants had any insect damage until very late in the season when everything was declining. It was spectacular. One of my good friends is a professional gardener and studied with John Jeavons...she was astonished. The vegies were very robust.[The Ideal Soil] is one of the most important soil mineral management books ever. We should all learn this for a better future. Kathy Schutt
Washington State
