SOIL CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS EITHER ACID OR ALKALINE. This is known as the pH factor [potential of hydrogen]. The pH scale is a range from acid values through to alkaline values. The pH scale is from numbers 1 through to 14.
Numbers 1 to 7 are on the acid end of the scale, while 7-14 is on the alkaline side,.
The neutral on the pH scale is the number 7. Some plants love acid conditions; such as the Buchu and Ericas.
If soil is too acid, lime may be added. Get advice from your herbalist or horticulturist how to do this safely and correctly.
If the soil is too alkaline, this is usually due to a lack of organic matters.
You can remedy this by the use of a good herbal organic compost.
Good soil
Remember; good soil leads to healthy, nourished plants. Healthy herbs and plants lead to healthy meals and herbal health and beauty products.
Healthy meals and products lead to a healthy you!
Vital elements
Three vital elements in soil are
Nitrogen [N[, Phosphorus [P] and Potassium [K]. Herbalists do not usually use fertilizers; and we never use pesticides.
Pesticides can have side effects such as killing off butterflies and bees, field mice and the owls that eat them.
Out of respect and care for the insect and animal world, we refrain from using substances that prove poisonous to them. It must also be remembered that pesticides on crops are often ingested by ourselves as part of the grain or fruit crop which were sprayed.
Pesticides and Cancer
There is a proven link between Pesticides and Cancer. Farmers who frequently use 2,4-D have a six-fold increase in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Scientists believe that the use of lawn chemicals such as 2,4-D has been a significant factor in the 50% rise in on-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the American population; Alleged News. [1]
Pesticides Kill Bees
The University of Minnesota Bee Squad are looking to raise awareness of the effect of pesticides on bees. The insecticide fipronil killed thousands of bees across Minneapolis in October 2013, Alleged News. [2]
Bees are disappearing
Honey bees are disappearing rapidly from the US; and scientists have confirmed that pesticides are killing the honeybees, Alleged News. [3]
New research showed in 2013 that bees exposed to common agricultural chemicals while pollinating US crops are less likely to resist a parasitical infection, Alleged News.
Scientists from the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture published a study [4] that linked chemicals, including fungicides, to the mass die-offs [5].
Scientists had been investigating to find the cause behind the Colony Collapse Disorder [CCD] in which an estimated 10 million beehives at an average value of $200 each have been lost since 2006, Alleged News. [3]
In the winter of 2012, the honey bee population declined by 31.1 percent, with some beekeepers reporting losses of 90 to 100 percent of their bee populations.
Scientists are concerned that the $200 billion agriculture industry could collapse, since more than 100 US crops rely on bees to pollinate them, Alleged News. [3]
Butterflies are disappearing
Great concern is felt as whole populations of butterflies are under threat, and in some instances are in danger of disappearing.
The beloved monarch butterfly is under serious threat, Alleged News.
A 2013 census found that year's population of North American monarch butterflies in Mexico to be at the lowest level ever measured, Alleged News.
Insect ecologist Orley Taylor spoke to Yale Environment 360 about how the planting of genetically modified crops and the resulting use of herbicides has contributed to the monarchs' decline, Alleged News. [6]
Protect our planet
Herbalists nurture bees and butterflies tenderly, as these tiny creatures are a fundamental link in our food chain.
Besides, they are cute and fellow beings on our planet.
They have as much right to be here as we, the stars in the sky and every creature on earth have.
Herbalists are the midwives and protectors of the earth.
Let us protect our God-given and precious land, nourish our soil with only organic and healthy substances and PROTECT OUR BEES, BUTTERFLIES, INSECTS AND BIRDS.
[1] Pesticides and Cancer, Alleged News
http://www.toxicsinfo.org/Lawn/Pesticides%20&%20Cancer.htm
[2] Pesticides killed bees, analysis shows, Alleged News
http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2013/10/07/pesticides-killed-bees-analysis-shows
[3] Scientists confirm: Pesticides kill America's honeybees, Alleged News
https://www.rt.com/usa/bee-pesticide-scientist-research-600/
[4] PLOS ONE: Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut pathogen Nosema cerenae
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0070182#authcontrib
[5] 'Beemageddon' threatens US with food disaster, Alleged News
https://www.rt.com/usa/bee-pollination-disaster-food-959/
[6] Tracking the causes of the sharp decline of Monarch butterfly, Alleged News
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/tracking_the_causes_of_sharp__decline_of_the_monarch_butterfly/2634/
Catherine Nicolette WhittlePhytotherapy HAOSA [South Africa 2001]
*Disclaimer; Please note that the information on this Herbal Post is not meant to replace your Doctor or Health Professional or Herbalist care,
With thanks to toxicsinfo.org, mndaily.com, rt.com, journals.plos.org and e360.yale.edu
No comments:
Post a Comment