Healthy Plants – Healthy People

Author: Peter Van Beek

  • Known Functions of Sea Minerals

    Known Functions of Sea Minerals

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    Trevor Galletly
    in

    As a society, we are still learning the roles and functions of Sea Minerals in both plants and soil biology. The list below shows the ones we are aware of, but there are many publications that we are not aware of. If you want to find out more, check out our introduction to sea minerals.…

  • Growing Avocados, a demonstration of increasing bin weight with Humic Acid and Sea Minerals

    Growing Avocados, a demonstration of increasing bin weight with Humic Acid and Sea Minerals

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    Trevor Galletly
    in

    Building Soil Carbon Nature’s way is, amongst other things, about diversity in the soil biology and feeding it with what that needs. They require more elements than what artificial fertilisers provide. One source of the most complete range is the sea where anything that has been washed away finishes up. Sea minerals are being harvested…

  • “Our Growing Business”, a Y6 Student Run Project

    “Our Growing Business”, a Y6 Student Run Project

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    Kai Wright
    in

    Students at a Queensland public primary school, inspired by the school’s wicking beds, purchased and cultivated seedlings, later selling them to raise funds for their Year 6 camp trip. We started our business off by selling seedlings we bought and raisedfor several months during school. We made recycled newspaper pots togrow them in and we…

  • How to make school wicking beds, suitable for all age groups

    How to make school wicking beds, suitable for all age groups

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    Kai Wright
    in

    Wicking beds are effective, hands-on teaching tools which introduce students to gardening while teaching Mathematics, Science and English. They also form part of teaching students how to plan, manage, and run a project. We hope that when students grow up, they will remember that growing vegetables at school was fun. In this article, we show…

  • Misconceptions in Wicking Bed Designs have Serious Hidden Costs

    Misconceptions in Wicking Bed Designs have Serious Hidden Costs

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    Kai Wright
    in

    Many so-called “wicking beds” found on the internet fail to wick properly by using stones or sand to keep the soil away from the storage pipe. Sadly, even the ABC showed them in its Gardening Australia series. These wrong designs stem from four misconceptions that have serious consequences. The Misconceptions Each of the following misconceptions…

  • Making a Styrofoam Wicking Box

    Making a Styrofoam Wicking Box

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    Peter Van Beek
    in

    Converting Styrofoam boxes into wicking boxes is a cheap and simple way to grow at least some of your own healthy food at home. They are portable and smaller boxes fit on a 1.8 m table, so even patios and concrete slabs can become useful places to grow. They can be made with common household…

  • Mixing Your Own Healthy Soil for Wicking Boxes and Tubs

    Mixing Your Own Healthy Soil for Wicking Boxes and Tubs

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    Kai Wright
    in

    Soils along the Queensland coast are often composed of silt and fine sand, with little clay and low mineral content. These sandy, low-fertility soils are sometimes sold as “topsoil” at garden supply stores, but the term refers only to their origin at the surface, not their quality or fertility. When using commercially sourced topsoil, screen…