There is a miracle all around us, hidden in plain sight. So common, its value is taken for granted. I am referring to the miracle of the green leaf. Without it there would be no food supply, oxygen to breathe, or even life.
It always amazes me that the food industry must rely on the green leaf to make sugars--primarily sugar cane and sugar beets. There is no sugar on the market that didn't first originate in a green leaf. With all of mankind's collective knowledge about chemistry and physics, there is zero synthesized sugar. What is so hard about forming a simple molecule of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen? Every plant around us can make sugars, but no chemist can. Hmmm.
I remember listening to an old tape of Dr. Carey Reams. In it he said, "I have discovered the math that will allow people to synthesize sugar without a plant. I don't know how it will be done, but the math clearly shows it can be done. Just like the nuclear bomb, the math had to come first from Einstein, then came the actual bomb. But I will not discuss it because it would devastate the sugar industry and many growers."
The leaf is nature's solar panel and is a principal component of making the plant an energy accumulator. The question is: How healthy and productive are the leaves you are raising?
The leaf is like a warehouse. It is a biological warehouse that needs power and inventory while it performs:
- Receiving
- Manufacturing
- Packaging
- Shipping out
Most leaf functions occur automatically, provided the plant has adequate power and nutrient inventory. Both of these areas require your stewardship.
It is very hard to run a warehouse in the dark, there must be a source of energy to provide light and to run motors, mixers, forklifts, conveyers, etc. Plant leaves have the same requirement. By its very nature, a plant is an energy accumulator and an energy reformulator. Your job, as steward, is to make sure there is enough energy available for plants to accumulate.
Most of the power that plants need comes from the sun. It is tempting to think "Since the sun shines most every day, I don't need to worry about this." Wrong -- some of the energy plants need comes from the soil. There is a dynamic interplay in the soil between electrical conductivity, the earth's magnetism, soil carbon, and plant roots functioning as antennas. Your role is to keep the electrical conductivity adequately supplied. (Please reread article #1 from this series and the energy articles from the Gardening for Nutrition series.)
The next area that requires your stewardship is the nutrient inventory in the leaf. It is impossible for a warehouse to run efficiently in the manufacturing of products if it is always running out of components, it needs to make the products it sells. Likewise, leaf efficiency suffers considerably when there is an inadequate supply of minerals or an inbalance in the ratio of minerals.
If the leaf is a warehouse, think of the individual nutrients in the leaf as workers getting the job done. An understaffed warehouse cannot have optimum output. Neither can a leaf have optimum output if it is undersupplied with nutrients. As a grower, what you give to the plant is what it gives back to you.
What is the leaf making? Sugars, complex carbohydrates, amino acids, protein, fiber, and lignin. Ultimately it is a crop we can eat, sell or feed to animals.
To measure the nutrient status in leaves requires a plant tissue analysis. With this tool, we can surmise leaf efficiency. We can also see what nutrients need to be enhanced and which ones should be avoided.
It is my opinion that commercial growers and market gardeners should periodically employ tissue testing. The higher the value of the crop, the more frequent the testing. This testing will help direct foliar feeding plants with the most beneficial nutrients.
I believe the wide variety of crops grown in backyard gardens combined with smaller areas make it impractical for gardeners. Even so it is a valuable diagnostic tool for in-season analysis. There is much to be learned from plant tissue analysis combined with a foliar spray program. The standard sufficiency ranges for plants are very broad and needs further refinement.
When you order a plant tissue analysis, Ag Labs will give you a complete foliar spray program for your crop. Of course, regular lab fees apply. More information can be found here.
