FOOD LACKS VITAMINS!! It's everywhere. Articles and authorities are telling us that eating our vegetables isn't good enough anymore. Our soil has been depleted so we no longer can depend on vitamins in our food.

"You can't get away without a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. The ground is so depleted that not even the bugs can live in our refined wheat and white flour anymore!" ~Dr. Hanley, MD

Do we have to depend on multi-vitamins to put the minerals back into our bodies? Where can we get the nutrients we need? Not surprisingly, from the soil.

How can we control the vitamins and nutrients in our soil? Most fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium – NPKs. Our bodies need a little more than that to function proficiently.

Read your high school anatomy book. There are 11 essential minerals: calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium and zinc. Amazing! Our fertilizer is only putting two of those essential minerals back into the soil.

It's time we take control of our soil content. Whether you decide to supplement your ground or grow plants in a greenhouse it is necessary to do more than just fertilize.

One easy way to return nutrients to the soil is composting. Remember to include egg shells and vegetable peelings, do not include meat. Although paper is permitted in a compost pile, don't include plastics, Styrofoam or other household wastes. The compost needs to be turned regularly to hasten decomposition.

After the compost is decomposed it can be mixed with dirt or soil to make a very healthy environment for your fruits and vegetables. Manure is a great fertilizer, however, it does not necessarily provide all the nutrients you need in your soil. Don't let that discourage you from adding it to your compost.

The following is compost recipe from the National Home Gardening Club. (The New American Kitchen Garden, page 39, 1997.)

". . .four or five parts of dry garden waste (shredded corn stalks, leaves, hay, straw, shrub trimmings, etc.—the smaller the pieces, the better for rapid decomposition) with one or two parts green waste (grass clippings, pea vines, etc.) in a pile at least three feet on a side and three feet tall. Sprinkle on a shovelful or two of soil or compost and apply water to the pile until it is moist but not soggy."

Till the ground six to eight inches then work the same amount of compost into the soil. After tilling the soil rake the area smooth and plant your plants. Be sure to keep your plants well watered for the first few weeks after planting.

Don't ignore your soil. You will need to add compost throughout the year to keep the soil fertilized. Two to four bushels of compost per year per hundred square feet is a decent rule of thumb.

Tags & Keywords : soil depletion, nutrients, fruit nutrition, vegetable nutrition, composting, fertilizer