Get In Touch With Your Plants February 20, 2007

Today I was back in the greenhouse planting more redwoods and installing drip irrigation to them.  I went just outside La Honda CA to do a little hike and see if I could find some good specimens to take cuttings from.  I found just what I was looking for.  I took about 20 cuttings from the base of a fairly young redwood.  This growth at the base of the redwood trees is called “burlwood.”  I filled 20 / 5 gallon cans with recycled soil that was dumped a year or so ago with plants that didn’t sell from my dad’s nursery.  This soil is perfect because it has been sitting long enough to have composted fairly well.  This is perfect because the soil has had a chance to blend a bit with the native soil in the area (which is very sandy and drains well), and the little critters in the soil have had time to do their thing.  The essential elements that plants need are nitrogen, phosporous, and potassium as well as 13 other elements which are required in trace amounts.  Well composted soil is great because the microbes in the soil have had a chance to process these elements into forms available for uptake by the roots of the trees.  For example, plants will not take up pure phosporous, it has to be in the form P2O5 to be available.  The same goes for potassium.  Pure K (potassium) will not do the trick, the plant or tree needs it in the form K2O.  Nitrogen is similar as it needs to be “fixed”  for uptake through the “nitrogen cycle.”   The plant itself can also do a bit of its own alchemy in that it can take elements and turn them into other elements by taking electrons and moving them around to create the nutrients it needs.  This is a very basic explanation as the processes are much more complicated than that, but it gives you an idea of how important the microbes in the soil are. 

Now to get off the beaten path for a minute.  There is much more to growing plants and trees than just water and fertilizer.  I firmly believe that plants can actually feel the energy and presence of the person working with them, and this explains why some people have a “green thumb” and others do not.  There are energies and vibrations that a person gives off and plants are very sensitive to this.  Some people may think I’m a bit weird or crazy, but I can actually feel this energy and vibration exchange when working with plants.  Some people may think I’m a bit off also because I play certain music when I’m working in the greenhouse. We all know that plants don’t have ears, but I will argue that they do sense the vibrations of the music and the energy and vibrations you unintentionally give off.  To get optimum results with your plants you must be in harmony with them because they are much more alive and sentient than you think!  The next time you are gardening try and tap into this energy.  Clear your mind of other thoughts and focus only on your plants as if you were practicing yoga.  Imagine how you would want them to look and flower and grow, send postive thoughts to them, and let them feel your love as you tap in to their energy and the vibration exchange.  I feel the exchange as I do this and I am able to get results with plants that many other people cannot.  I guarantee you that if you are able to tap into this energy you will get better results with your plants as well.  I can actually see the redwoods perking up when I am around them.   I can feel the energy after only a short while working in the greenhouse each time I visit.  This is one occasion where the power of positive thinking will show results almost immediately.  Try it the next time you are working in your garden and not only will your plants do better but you will feel better and more connected to nature!  I know that there is something to this although it is hard to explain; you will have to try it and feel it to know what I mean and you may be quite suprised at the results!

Plantman