Crab Pot Mesh and Weedmat Wicking Beds are cheap, easy to build with simple home tools, and can be made in any shape or size to suit your requirements. Our designs minimise waste of mesh, plastic, and time. Despite their simplicity, they’re exceptionally durable—our beds built in 2010 still show little to no wear in 2025.

They consist of:

• a frame – made of light crab pot wire mesh 40mm x75mm, weed mat and builders’ plastic,
• a water reservoir – made from 90mm storm water drainpipe,
• an overflow – made from 13 mm poly pipe and fittings, and
• a stabilising wire – made from 10 gauge wire and a piece of garden hose.

Building Your First Bed

The instructions below will guide you through building your first set of mesh wicking beds. A 5.6m length of mesh can make three beds of 1.22m x 635mm – two 400mm high and one 300mm high. The shallow bed is suited for shallow-rooted crops such as beetroot.

The Frame

Materials for the Frame

In the photo above, as seen from left to right:

• Crab pot mesh 1.22m wide
• 4m wide builders‘ plastic used doubled up
• 1m wide weed mat
• C-clips
• (not shown) 10 Gage wire and a length of garden hose.

Tools Needed for the Frame

To assemble the frame, you will need:

• Large bolt cutter to cut the mesh
• C-clip pliers
• Small bolt cutter to cut failed C-clips
• Pair of pliers to remove those cut bits
• Tape measure
• Chalk to mark the plastic and weed mat
• Scissors to cut the plastic and weed mat
• A long straight piece of wood.

Assembling the Frame

Clipping a frame together. (We suggest working on a table and do the 300mm wall first.)

Straighten 16 rectangles of the wall, and clip a corner of the floor at the long side of the bottom plate to the first rectangle of the wall. Then clip each second rectangle to the corresponding one of the walls.

The 16^th row of these rectangles is longer than the floor plate. Bend it 90 degrees in the middle and straighten the next 8 rows. At the corner, clip it in both directions to give the bed its rigidity. Again, bend the 8^th row of these and straighten 15 rows. Bend the next 8 rows and straighten them. The last row sticks out, bend it 90 degrees and clip all 8 rectangles along the height to the corresponding ones of the first row, again for rigidity.

To bend the wire mesh neatly and with minimal effort, place the long piece of wood along the bend line and use it as a lever or straight edge – pressing or pulling against it gives you a clean, even fold without needing special tools.

The Weed Mat

Cut three lengths of 3.85m of the weed mat (250mm extra as overlap). Concertina-fold each length for ease of placement.

The mat covers the floor, one inside wall and part of the opposite outside wall in the high beds and all of it for in the low beds. Unfold these onto the frame, starting in a corner along the floor, then up and over the opposite side. At the starter corner, clip the mat in a few places along the floor and vertical side to keep it in place, and unroll it.

At the end, clip the vertical outside bit to the frame so it stays tight; the inside will be held in place by the soil. Press the corners In tight to prevent stress later.

The Plastic Liner

Cut two pieces of 1,800mm x 1,200mm plastic liner for the taller beds and one of 1,600 x 1,000 for the lower bed. Fold the sides of each piece as an envelope, the size of the bottom plate, 1,200mm x 600mm.

Place the plastic liner in the bed, unfold it while making sure the corners are vertical.

The Stabilising Wire

Cut 590mm piece of garden hose as cover for the stabilising wire, with a V at one end.

Cut a 660mm piece of 10 gauge wire and bend 30mm at one end, slide the wire through the garden hose sharply so it is 600mm long and bend the wire at the second end.

Put the stabiliser in last when everything else is in place.

The Water Reservoir

Materials Needed for the Water Reservoir

To make the water reservoir assembly, you will need:

• 90 mm PVC storm drainpipe
• 90 degree 90mm PVC bend
• 90mm mosquito screen (compulsory in Townsville and for schools, recommended elsewhere)
• 90mm PVC end cap to keep the water in and thirsty bush rats out – This comes from experience!

Tools Needed for the Water Reservoir

• A piece of lino with one straight edge, an elastic band and a pencil to mark the cuttings on the PVC pipe.
• A hacksaw to cut the PVC pipes.
• A drill, a 60mm hole-saw for the drainage holes in the PVC pipe, a 12mm drill bit to cut a hole in the PVC pipe for the overflow.
• A small pair of pliers to remove the cut-out bits from the hole-saw.
• A pair of scissors to cut the liner and the weed mat.
• A pair of nail scissors to cut the outlet hole in the liner and weed mat.
• Masking tape to hold the liner in place while filling the bed with soil.

Assembling the Water Reservoir

With a piece of lino with one straight side as shown, mark one length of 1.150mm and one 500mm of the 90mm storm drainpipe. On the long length, mark the centres of the holes, the first one at 250 mm of one end, the next two at 350mm and cut the pipes. The elbow goes at the 250mm end and the end cap goes at the other end.

Place the 90° PVC bend so that the holes in the PVC pipe reservoir face down and drill a 12mm hole 100mm above the floor level as shown above.

File this out 1mm, so the poly pipe will fit snugly.

The Overflow

Materials Needed for the Overflow

For the overflow, you will need:

• Water-tank outlet
• 13mm poly pipe: one length of 220mm and two of 50mm
• 90° 13mm poly pipe bend

Tools Needed for the Overflow

• Strong scissors or a poly pipe cutter.

Assembling the Overflow

Cut the poly pipe into one length of 220mm and two of 50 mm.

Diagonally cut one end of the 220 mm length. It is to be inserted onto the fill pipe with the opening down, so the water flows out when the water flows out when re-filling the reservoir when it is full. Cut a 20mm hole through the liner and weed mat, 950 mm from the bottom and opposite the hole in the PVC pipe.

Placing The Overflow

Unscrew the nut and one washer of the tank outlet, leaving one washer at the outside.

Push the outlet from the outside in through the 20mm hole in the weed mat and liner, and screw the nut and washer back on from the inside.

Push the uncut end of that 13mm poly pipe onto the tank outlets’ 12mm and the cut end into the fill pipe with the cut facing down.

At the outside, place the two short bits onto the 90° bend and push one end into the tank outlet. These can be swivelled to raise the water level in the bed when needed.

Soil

The volumes of the beds are respectively 288L and 216L. Allowing for 30mm freeboard for mulch, the rectangular bed needs about 270L of soil and the round bed 195L. See Mixing Your Own Healthy Soil for Wicking Boxes and Tubs to get your own healthy soil.

When filling the bed with soil, make sure that there are no corners of the lining lying flat; all the plastic must be upright against the wall. If needed use, duct tape to hold it in place – learned the hard way.

Weed Control Around the Beds

In the photo showing the overview, we covered the area below and between the beds with builders’ plastic and then weed mat. While weed seeds still germinate and grow their roots under the beds, they are easy to pull out as their roots cannot grow through the plastic.

The post Lightweight Wicking Beds from Crab Pot Mesh and Weedmat appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

They recycle dead plant and animal material and build up carbon in the soil, which enhances the soil’s ability to hold water and nutrients. They put some minerals such as phosphate in plant-accessible form, which plants often cannot absorb by themselves.

Not only that, but they produce countless organic compounds that plants need to ward off diseases and insects. These also give plants and fruit their resistance to insects and diseases, and taste, and are important to us for our own health and well-being. It needs an active symbiosis between plants and soil biology to produce the healthy plants we need for our own health, as shown by the Plant Health Pyramid.

Modern farming practices have led to a significant decline in soil biology worldwide. This is contributing to increasingly lower resistance in plants to diseases and insects, and too much diminished nutritional value to us. The latter is increasingly recognised as a contributing factor to many of our physical and mental illnesses.

Fortunately, over the past 30+ years, researchers and growers have demonstrated that it is possible to revitalise soil biology and regain its vital benefits.

Many of these methods are based on making compost, which can take several months to mature and requires some know-how and experience.

To then maintain and further strengthen the soil biology so that the soil’s health and structure keep improving requires adjusting the growing practices and looking after them.

The post The Roles of Soil Biology appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

The Sun is the Driving Force

Green chlorophyll in leaves, algae and some bacteria use energy from the sun to split Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the air into Oxygen (O2) and Carbon (C). The oxygen is released back to the air while the Carbon is combined with water and minerals from the soil to produce sugars, fats, oils and other compounds such as vitamins and proteins. These fats, oils and compounds differ between plant species.

Some of the sugar is used by the plant to grow, and some is transported to the roots and exuded into the soil and feeds parts of the soil biology. How much is exuded depends on the plant species and the plant’s stage of development. Under good conditions, half may be exuded during the life of the plant.

The Soil Builders

Some of the countless organisms of the soil biology use the sugars to combine soil particles such as clay and loam into complex soil structures. Others decompose dead plants and animals and recycle the minerals in them. Still others put minerals in forms that plants can absorb, and create many of the compounds that plants (and humans) need for protection against diseases and insects.

Fungi play a big role in building carbon structures. Some (mycorrhizal fungi) can find and transport minerals from a distance and exchange this for sugars in special root cells. These fungi function as extensions of the plant’s root-system.

More diversity in plants and their exudates leads to a more diverse soil biology and more resistance in the symbiotic system.

Restoring and Feeding the Soil Biology

Many modern farming practices damage or kill the soil biology and have weakened the plant-soil symbiosis. This has led to increasing cost and problems in agriculture, and is also a major contributing factor in many current human-health problems. Fortunately, new knowledge has shown nature’s ability to recover once we stop disrupting this symbiosis and start looking after it.

Our experiments with high-fungal teas have shown that changes in management can strengthen the plant-soil symbiosis quickly and profitably, and that it is not difficult to do. Feeding the soil biology with the widest range of minerals available, Sea minerals, is one effective way to do that.

The post Carbon and Minerals in air, soils and plants appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

Avoid Chemicals that Kill

Avoid using any chemical that ends in ‘cide’ – as that suffix that means killing. Replace those for products with ‘Organically Certified’ signs on their package. That means that the contents comply with Australian 2022 standards for organic and biodynamic production. The need for protection will reduce as your soil biology gets healthier, and with complete plant nutrition, will almost completely disappear, see the Plant Health Pyramid for an explanation.

Feed Your Plants with Biology-friendly Products

Artificial fertilisers are highly concentrated simple salts that kill or interfere with soil biology. Use natural fertilisers such as kelp oil, fish oil, molasses, blood and bone, soft rock phosphate, rock dust, chook pellets, manure, compost and so on.

Feed Your Soil Biology with Sea Minerals

The tens of thousands different species in soil biology have their own needs for minerals, and Sea Minerals have the widest range of minerals of supplementary fertilisers. The case studies show improvements in yields and quality from applying it to crops and orchards, while applying pastures with Sea Minerals has produced substantial increases in Dry Matter and the benefits of using Sea Minerals in Pasture.

Keep the Soil Covered where Possible

Where possible, use cover crops, crop residue or stubble mulch. They protect the soil biology and when they decay, they feed it in the next season. In gardens, use the ‘Chop and Drop’ method: all parts of the plant that are not used by us get cut up and left on the bed where it grew to build up the soil biology.

Leave Plenty of Leaves when Grazing

In pastures, use short grazing/long spelling rotations, which leave a far larger surface area of leaves to catch the sun’s energy. This allows for faster re-growth and yields more Dry Matter per year than overgrazing.

Encourage Diversity

In pasture, short term rotational grazing also reduces the selective grazing of plants favoured by cattle. This helps to maintain diversity in plant species and thus a more diverse soil biology, leading to better overall nutritional quality of the pasture.

In crops and orchards, encourage diversity in the soil biology by crop rotation, multi-species cover crops, or using a diverse mix of different crops grown between rows when and where possible.

The post Looking After Your Soil Biology appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

The second trial on a nearby property was mulched, with the grazier reporting significantly more dry matter present.

Background

This ongoing demonstration aimed to show the effects of stimulating soil biology in grazing land. An indication of potential results had been shown in one of our earlier case studies, where Brent went from 30 steers to 90, tripling his farm’s carrying capacity in just 20 years.

Bio-Booster is a high concentration of soil microbiology containing a wide range of species needed for a healthy soil biology. Liquid Sea Minerals and humic acid were applied to support and stimulate the soil biology. The aim is to speed-up building soil carbon the way nature does it. This method is low cost, can be home-grown in five days and has been tested in soybeans and macadamias with very promising results.

Following a workshop in November 2021, participants then built application equipment, started a worm farm, prepared a Starter, grew the soil biology, and then applied the treatment on 18 February 2022. A microscopic quality check was undertaken, and pasture measuring posts were installed at application.

Treatments

Bio-Booster at 100 L/ha along with Liquid Sea Minerals at 5L/ha and Humic acid at 15 L/ha was applied on two properties on the same day. The owner of the first property treated part of a 2.5 Ha paddock, and the owner of the nearby second property treated a section of a paddock on his place. Treatments were applied behind a ripper. Control areas were also ripped to ensure that any difference in measurements was due to the treatment alone and not to ripping.

The owners of the first property also included seeding a number of pasture species to increase diversity in soil biology and stock-feed. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) was sown in both treated and untreated areas.

Stock were excluded from the paddocks to allow new species to mature and seed.

Observations

7 June 2022

The owners of the first property observed that the grass near ground level was noticeably denser in the treated area compared to the control area.

29 June 2022

140 days after planting Trevor Galletly and the owners of both properties conducted a visual inspection and did leaf refractometer readings of Siratro in the treated and untreated areas at the first property.

Leaf refractometer readings indicate the relative level of plant sugars in the leaf and are a good indicator of the plant’s health and nutritional value. What is poor, average, good or excellent varies between species, but a higher reading is better than a lower one.

Chicory had emerged in treated and control areas. Few of the other sown species had emerged.

At application, the pasture was native species at 5 – 20 cm height. As native grass species vary across the paddock, detailed assessments of growth were made for three species in both control and treated sections.

 Chicory plants in the treated area were generally broader leaved and taller.

One effect of excluding cattle from both treated and control areas was an increase of desirable pasture species favoured by cattle. Continuous grazing gradually leads to the loss of these species.

February 2023

Mulching at the second property, giving at least 20% more mulch.

Comments

The inspections showed that treated areas have more growth than control areas.

Tables for Approximate Relationships between pasture height and Kilograms of Dry Matter/Ha (kgDM/Ha) indicate that a 10 cm height increase can add 3,000 kg of DM/Ha.

To put this into perspective, an average 600Kg cow can require 18 kg Dry Matter per day to thrive and produce milk. Assuming 50% is trampled or spoiled, the extra Dry Matter eaten is 1,500 kg and represents 83 grazing days or 2 and a half months per hectare for a fully grown animal or 5 months for a heifer. The trampled part and larger root system will feed the soil-biology, thus increasing future carbon in the soil with all its benefits.

This treatment can be applied to additional paddocks as planned, which will allow for a slow build-up of stock numbers, which is a major cost.

Indicative Cost of the Treatment

The indicative cost of treatment is approximately $26 per hectare, which includes $6–$8 per hectare for Bio-Booster (based on a 1,000L unit costing $60–$80, enough to treat 10 hectares), and $18 per hectare for 3L of sea minerals and 3L of humic acid. This estimate excludes tractor operating costs and assumes that application equipment is already available on the farm.

Conclusion

The use of Bio-Booster has increased soil biological activity and given increased growth of pasture by improving the soil and increasing carbon levels.

The benefits are very promising, and the costs are minimal.

These results are consistent with findings in other crops.

The post Bracewell pasture trials, significantly increasing Dry Matter with BioBooster appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

Abstract from: Sea Minerals Reduce Dysbiosis, Improve Pasture Productivity and Plant Morphometrics in Pasture Dieback Affected Soils.
Authors: Maria De Las Malvinas Whitton, Xipeng Ren, Sung Joon Yu, Andrew D Irving – Central Queensland University

Pasture dieback (PD) is a grassland deteriorating syndrome resulting in grass loss and weed expansion in Australian pastures, with current estimates indicating that over four million hectares are affected. PD creates financial losses to the industry by reducing animal carrying capacity and producing poor-quality feed, resulting in diminished productivity.

After more than a decade since PD first appeared in Australia, the causes and effective treatments are still unknown. Suggested causes include soil microbiota dysbiosis, pathogens, insects, climate change and overuse of chemical fertilisers. Sea minerals have been suggested as capable of improving plants’ yield, quality, taste, and nutritional value, but were never brought into conventional practice as an alternative to chemical fertilisers.

Here, we investigated the capacity of sea minerals to improve grass health and yield of PD-affected soil. The replicate plots were treated with water or with 4 mL/m2 of commercially available sea mineral product to investigate the soil chemistry profile, plant morphometrics, pasture productivity, soil microbiota profile, and microbiota-nutrient interactions.

Sea mineral application significantly increased total dry matter 20 weeks after a single application, translating to an additional 967 kg/ha; this benefit was still present at 498 kg/ha eleven months post a single application. Sea mineral application improved soil microbiota by boosting beneficial taxa while reducing genera associated with arid and toxic soils.

Additionally, sea mineral application increased the number of grassroots up to eleven months post a single application. Our data suggest the benefits of sea mineral application to damaged unproductive or exhausted soils could be further explored as a natural, affordable, and non-toxic alternative to chemical fertilisers.

Whitton MM, Ren X, Yu SJ, et al. Sea Minerals Reduce Dysbiosis, Improve Pasture Productivity and Plant Morphometrics in Pasture Dieback Affected Soils. Sustainability. 2022;14(22):14873. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214873

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This brine with all the other minerals is a clear liquid and is a fertiliser for plants and soil biology. Healthy soil biology consists of a wide diversity of organisms – over 50,000 can be found in a single spoonful of compost. It stands to reason that this large diversity requires a diverse range of minerals to function well. Sea Minerals is one of the few, if not the only, natural source that provides this wide range of minerals. Please note that Sea minerals are complementary to all biology-friendly plant nutrition and are not a replacement.

For many minerals in Sea Minerals, we know their functions in plant growth. The precise interactions between these minerals and the 50,000+ soil species are not fully understood, but the benefits are easy to see. Plants show improved growth, with bigger and darker-green leaves that have a healthy shine – the latter indicating high resistance to insects and diseases. When the soil biology is not healthy, the growth of plants stays below its optimum, and they do not yet have their resistance against diseases and insects. They need to be protected with industrial chemicals, which further reduce the soil biology.

The Plant Health Pyramid developed by John Kempf shows that once all essential minerals for the first two stages of plant health are available, some of the complex compounds needed for the final two stages are produced by the soil biology, provided it is healthy. Following the lead from others, we found significant improvements in the health and yields of field crops, orchards and pasture after applying Sea Minerals, see the summary of case studies.

For large areas, It can be bought in bulk and applied when irrigating through fertigation. It is profitable from the first application at the recommended rate of 40L/ha.

For smaller areas, it can be bought under many names in small amounts and applied with a watering can.

The post An Introduction to Sea minerals appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

It highlights that a plant needs minerals from the soil and complex compounds from the soil biology to be healthy. In this context, healthy means to have natural and almost complete resistance to diseases and insects. Those same minerals and compounds are vital for human health.

Levels 1 and 2 of the Plant Health Pyramid rely mainly on mineral nutrition, which is relatively straightforward to manage using tools like sap analysis to identify and apply the needed nutrients. By contrast, Levels 3 and 4 highlight why fostering healthy soil biology is critical for resilient, nutrient-dense crops. Here, the focus shifts from simply adding minerals to supporting the microbial community that feeds and protects plants.

In practice, Levels 3 and 4 move us from just growing plants to growing the living system that sustains them. For more on nurturing this symbiotic soil life, check out our introduction to Soil Biology.

Four levels of plant health

The plant health pyramid consists of four levels. Each level requires a set of inputs needed to get certain outcomes and represents essential key processes for good plant health. Any shortcoming in the lower levels reduces the processes in the higher levels.

Unfortunately, most commercial growers and most crops are not even at level one of plant health care on the plant health pyramid – John Kempf

Even when commercially grown plants don’t reach level one, they can still grow and produce by relying on artificial chemicals. However, these worsen the problem over time by killing the microbiology in the soil and on the plant, and so diminish the processes in the top levels. This increases the amounts of chemicals that need to be used and severely reduces the plant’s nutritional value to us. And that has serious health consequences for us.

Level 1. Complete photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process in which the plant uses the blue and red rays from the sun to combine carbon dioxide from the air with water and minerals from the soil to make sugars. Photosynthesis requires magnesium, iron, manganese, nitrogen and phosphorus.

It is complete when each of these are sufficiently available and there is enough water, sunlight and carbon dioxide for the plant to make enough diverse sugars to grow itself and for exchange with the soil biology. The plant then becomes resistant to soil-borne fungi, increases its leaf size and leaf thickness, and can look quite different from what we are used to.

Level 2. Complete protein synthesis

The simple sugars from level one are then combined in the leaves with minerals and each other through a process called Protein synthesis into very large molecules. This process creates 10s of thousands different protein molecules needed for its DNA and other functions that include protecting itself against insects and diseases. In addition to the above-mentioned minerals, protein synthesis requires a wide range of minerals in small amounts such as cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, selenium, zinc, manganese, copper and many more.

When complete protein synthesis is reached, plants become resistant to insects with a simple digestive system while they are larvae and to sap sucking species by disturbing their digestive systems.

Level 3. Increased lipid synthesis

Lipids are fats and oils that all plants produce for their own basic needs. When plants have sufficient of these, they cover on their leaves with them, which can be seen as a glossy, waxy sheen on their surface. The lipids work as a shield against all the airborne bacterial and fungal pathogens. Many of the compounds or parts thereof needed to make lipids are made by the bacteria living on and around their roots and are exchanged for sugars made by the plants.

Level 4. Increased secondary metabolite synthesis

Further to those fats and oils, secondary metabolites refer to essential oils such as aromatic compounds, flavonoids, carotids and many more. These protect the plants from ultraviolet radiation and overgrazing and ward off diseases and insects by killing viruses, bacteria and insects outright. Many of the compounds or their components are made by beneficial microbes on the plant’s roots and leaves and exchanged for the plant’s sugars. As a result, plants become resistant to beetles, nematodes and viruses. Some compounds give plants their unique, individual taste, and many compounds are essential for human health.

Getting to levels three and four requires a robust and diverse biology. How to foster that is a main focus of this website.

A summarised extract of John Kempf’s talk that includes many other observations and ideas is in Building Crop Immunity: Understanding the Plant Heath Pyramid.

The post An Introduction to the Plant Health Pyramid appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

Why Focus on Plant Health?

Modern agriculture often accepts pest and disease pressure as unavoidable, relying on chemical pesticides as the main defence. However, many crops are below even the foundational level of health, living in a state where disease and insect attacks are common. The Plant Health Pyramid offers a systematic way to reverse this by improving nutrition and biology, transforming plants from vulnerable to highly resilient.

The Role of Sap Analysis

A central tool in this approach is sap analysis. Unlike tools that give limited or indirect data, sap analysis directly measures nutrient levels inside plant sap. This allows farmers to see which nutrients are lacking or imbalanced, which directly links to specific disease and pest susceptibilities. This data-driven approach prevents guesswork and speeds up the path to healthier, more resilient crops.

The Four Levels of the Plant Health Pyramid

Level 1: Enhanced Photosynthesis

At the pyramid’s foundation is improving both the quantity and quality of photosynthesis. This means:

• Producing more non-reducing sugars and polysaccharides.
• Increasing leaf size, thickness, and chlorophyll concentration.

Healthy photosynthesis brings new energy into the system and allows plants to develop resistance to soil-borne fungal pathogens like Verticillium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, and Pythium. Interestingly, these organisms aren’t inherently harmful; in healthy systems, they shift from pathogens to beneficial partners, decomposing residues or even feeding the plant.

To reach this level, plants need balanced amounts of magnesium, iron, manganese, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The goal isn’t just adding more fertiliser but ensuring sufficiency based on measured need.

Level 2: Complete Protein Synthesis

Here, plants must rapidly convert all absorbed soluble nitrogen into complete proteins every day. This reduces the presence of soluble nitrogen and amino acids in the sap, which are preferred food sources for many pests.

With complete protein synthesis, plants become resistant to insects with simple digestive systems, like aphids, caterpillars, and larval pests. Achieving this requires adequate levels of magnesium, sulphur, molybdenum, and boron, along with enzyme cofactors like trace minerals that support the biochemical bonding of amino acids into proteins.

Examples show that changing plant nutrition even within 24–48 hours can kill pests like corn rootworm larvae or spider mites, without chemicals. It’s a shift in biochemistry, not an immune or insecticidal reaction.

Level 3: Increased Lipid Production

Plants now produce more lipids and plant oils, storing surplus energy as waxes and oils. These create a glossy protective barrier on leaves and stems, helping resist airborne fungal and bacterial diseases like mildews, rusts, and blights.

To reach this stage, plants need to absorb nutrients primarily through the rhizophagy cycle drawing nutrients from live bacteria and microbial metabolites in the root zone, rather than just from ions dissolved in soil water. This depends on a living, diverse soil microbiome, which is why most hydroponic systems rarely achieve this level.

Level 4: Elevated Secondary Metabolites

At the highest level, plants produce large amounts of secondary metabolites (phytoalexins, terpenoids, carotenoids, essential oils). These compounds:

• Actively defend against complex pests like beetles and nematodes.
• Even prevent viruses from expressing themselves.

This stage represents active immunity, triggered by specific microbes in the plant’s microbiome activating the SAR (Systemic Acquired Resistance) and ISR (Induced Systemic Resistance) pathways. These microbes act much like probiotics do for human health.

To sustain this level, soil biology must include organisms capable of activating these pathways, often applied as tailored microbial inoculants rather than generic compost teas.

Passive vs. Active Immunity

The bottom two levels (photosynthesis and protein synthesis) rely mainly on balanced chemistry and improvements here can happen quickly. The top two levels (lipids and secondary metabolites) rely on active biology, which takes time and consistent management to build robust microbial communities.

Rethinking Pesticides

Interestingly, applying pesticides undermines this process:

• Pesticides trigger proteolysis (protein breakdown), increasing soluble nitrogen in the sap.
• This reverses plant resistance and attracts more pests.

Preventative chemical applications, therefore, often create the very problems they’re meant to prevent.

Regenerative Agriculture in Practice

Through balanced nutrition and biological management, it’s possible and demonstrated to grow crops fully resistant to common pests and diseases. This removes the need for routine pesticide use, supports better soil health, and can improve yield and quality.

Sap analysis supports this by providing clear, actionable data instead of relying on guesswork or limited tools like Brix refractometers alone.

Conclusion

The Plant Health Pyramid isn’t just a theory: it’s a practical roadmap backed by data and real-world success stories. By restoring natural plant resistance through nutrition and biology, farmers can create systems that:

• Contribute to a truly regenerative agriculture.
• Reduce chemical inputs.
• Improve yield and quality.

The post Building Crop Immunity: Understanding the Plant Health Pyramid appeared first on Healthy Plants - Healthy People.

To function correctly, a wicking bed requires:

• A 90 mm PVC pipe to hold about half of the plant-available water below the level of the overflow pipe and the bottom of the bed. The other half is held in the open spaces between the soil particles – water that would normally drain away. 
  As the pipe fills up quickly but the open spaces only slowly, filling up a bed with an open tap to get it fully filled means coming back once or twice after water comes out of the overflow; with the tap only partly open it takes a bit more time.
• A fill pipe: from the surface into the reservoir pipe for refilling.
• An overflow pipe: An overflow pipe from the top of the reservoir pipe through the wall to the outside, to prevent beds and boxes from becoming a swamp during heavy rain or over-watering.

Common Wicking Containers

Styrofoam Boxes

Styrofoam wicking boxes can be placed on tables for easy access. They are portable, durable (lasting over ten years), and help regulate soil temperature. They are also easy to make and often available for free from greengrocers or vegetable wholesalers. (See making a Styrofoam wicking box)

Wicking Tubs

Larger pots and tubs can be converted into wicking containers by adding a plastic liner (if necessary), a 90 mm PVC reservoir pipe, a fill pipe, and an overflow. Black tubs may overheat, so surrounding them with shade cloth can help regulate temperature. Tubs can also be moved easily using a trolley.

Wicking Beds

Wicking beds are permanent structures that come in various shapes, sizes, and materials. (See the countless ways to make wicking beds for examples.)

Key Guidelines

• When building your wicking bed, it is important to keep the following essential requirements in mind.
• An overflow pipe should be fitted 100 mm from the bottom to prevent the box from swamping from excess water.
• Soil and mulch should not exceed 400 mm above the water reservoir.
• No plant should be more than 350 mm from an outlet hole in the reservoir pipe.
• A U-shaped reservoir is required for beds wider than 800 mm to ensure even water distribution.

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