Saving Viable Seeds & Other Garden Variety ThoughtsUnity Consciousness #405

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(1) There is a notion that viable seeds are those that sink to the bottom in water. This to not a 100% certainty. Save all the seeds. Separate the floaters from the sinkers and test it out for yourself. The worst that can happen is the seeds that don't germinate will become fertilizer.

(2) There is another notion that viable seeds are the plump ones and those that are not plump, are not viable. This is not a 100% certainty. Save all seeds and plant them.

(3) It is unnecessary to pull the bottom leaves off tomato plants when planting them deeply. Potatoes leaves are covered constantly when "hilling" and the plant does fine and grows roots along the vine just like tomato plants.

(4) When asparagus come out of the ground or when seeds sprout, why aren't they dirty?

(5) Osmosis and diffusion are the same things. When diffusion is occurring and we think there is no semipermeable membrane, there is a dimension, which is a semi-perceivable membrane.

(6) What we do know is that not all seeds that sink or are plump, germinate, so why make distinctions and throw seeds away without giving them a chance?

(7) If plants need sunlight for photosynthesis in order to make their own food, why did the God of some bibles create plants before creating the sun?

Sucking Understanding From Plant Suckers, Creation & AfricaUnity Consciousness #393

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Those parts of plants we call side shoots and suckers are trying to get a message to us through example and through metaphor.

A plant sucker can produce an entirely new plant. If that plant sucker is removed from the parent to a different environment, it will eventually take on different characteristics.

If the knowledge of the parent plant is forgotten, a person encountering the plant sucker might consider the plant sucker to be an original and having an origin all unto itself. This, of course, would be a misinterpretation due to incomplete information.

If incomplete information is encountered first and learned as if it was complete information and that information is sewn into the senses of our thinking and attached to all the other pieces of the fabric of our lives, it is a necessary choice to extract and rework and add the rest of the information. So it is with our understanding of plant suckers and so it is with our understanding of how different groups of people came into existence from one African plant.

All groups of people are plant suckers from Africa, even those within Africa because they originated from one source within the heart of the continent.

Out of one came many. So it is with the Creator, with plants and with humans.

Don't Worry Gardening Advice Is Up To YouUnity Consciousness #379

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This year I decided to get a better feel for the state of gardening. I've read articles and watched videos of people in different countries using a variety of methods. Though far from a complete analysis, a few things are worrisome that can contribute to causing many not to take the step into gardening. If nutritious food the cheapest and simplest way is your main overriding goal, this can be achieved without spending hours listening to others or becoming some gardening guru.

1. You can plant a seed from start to finish in 2 seconds to 5 minutes. In two seconds you can just throw some seeds on the ground and walk away (this works better for the smaller seeds). With just a few more seconds you can scratch the soil, put the seed in, cover it and walk away. In a few more minutes you can take a hand trowel and plant a seed or plant. If you want to increase your chances of success, use mulch as has been elsewhere explained.

2. Remember, a lot of the gardening advice is based on information handed down from commercial farming practices that relies heavily upon scientists and Cooperative Extension Agencies and comes from the mindset that we humans are in control. They poison plants and mindsets but we do not have to allow them to poison our plates and our practices.

3. Don't worry about a soil test. If you look at the ground and something is growing there, then something will grow there.

4. Soil preparation is a process. As long as you're willing to grow into the process and be patient, you do not have to prepare the soil at all. You don't have to buy any soil, compost, fertilizer, amendments or even get them somewhere for free. Use what you got and see what happens.

5. When should you plant? Whenever something else is growing, something else will grow. Use your natural sense for when and what to plant.

6. Seed germination. Put seeds in the ground, cover with mulch and many will germinate. You don't even have to water initially. Let the rain do what it does.

7. Nutrients. Don't worry about it. You will learn as you go. The more you do things in the natural way and respect the process, you are already on the path to greater amounts of success. By the way, the main reason for nutrient leaching from the soil being spoken of as a problem by many gardeners is when the natural way is not followed enough or understood enough. We know this because despite all the things gardeners do, the plants they don't do these things for, that nature is taking care of, do well year after year and nutrient leaching doesn't seem to be a problem.

The main point is to do less or whatever suits you best that does not cause you stress. Garden to the degree and pace you want to. Just at least make an attempt in the simplest way that suits you. You will not be disappointed unless you do nothing or listen to the wrong advice by not trusting your Creator-given natural sense that runs throughout the natural being that you are.

Truth is, gardening, if approached simply, will find its way to match the rhythm of the ecosystem it depends on. This is an epitome of low cost, high reward.

Agriculture Origin & History In Africa & MoreUnity Consciousness #372

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Agriculture Originated In Africa

The Creator put humans into Africa first.

“Count Volney gives the following description of the scientific achievements of the ancient Ethiopians, and of how they mapped out the signs of the zodiac on the star-spangled dome of the heavens:

Should it be asked at what epoch this system took its birth, we shall answer on the testimony of the monuments of astronomy itself, that its principles appear with certainty to have been established about seventeen thousand years ago, and if it be asked to what people it is to be attributed, we shall answer that the same monuments, supported by unanimous traditions, attribute it to the first tribes of Egypt; and reason finds in that country all the circumstances which could lead to such a system; when it finds there a zone of sky, bordering on the tropic, equally free from the rains of the equator and the fogs of the north; when it finds there a central point of the sphere of the ancients, a salubrious climate, a great but manageable river, a soil fertile without art or labor, inundated without morbid exhalations, and placed between two seas which communicate with the richest countries; it conceives that the inhabitant of the Nile, addicted to agriculture from the facility of communications, to astronomy from the state of his sky, always open to observation, must have been the first to pass from the savage to the social state; and consequently to attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life.”

It was, then, on the borders of the upper Nile, among a black race of men, that was organized the complicated system of the worship of the stars, considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture.” (1)

From Africa, the planet was populated with all humans in existence today. From Africa, civilization was also formed and spread to the rest of the world. As part of civilization, agriculture was formed and spread to the rest of the world.

Agriculture did not originate in China not in Asia not in the Indus Valley not in the Fertile Crescent not between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers not in South or Central America with Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, Peruvians and not with the usage of “three sisters” planting.

A Few Of Many Ways Of Estimating The Origin

(A) Astronomy and the Zodiac go back to at least 55,000 BCE. This is the minimum starting date for the origin of agriculture. We can also examine the accomplishments in all other sciences and arts and it is a certainty, we shall find evidence of much earlier starting dates for the invention of agriculture.

(B) There are two Great Year Ages occurring simultaneously. Both of these ages are caused by Earth's movements in relation to the movement of other celestial bodies. A complete cycle is approximately 26,000 years and is measured by the changes in the positions of constellations.
If we assign a very minimum date for human existence to 500,000 years ago, there have been 19 periods of 26,000 years each. Each of these periods contain two simultaneous Great Years; therefore there has been at least 38 periods where constellations have changed. Constellations, of course, affect all things. These constellations affect the energies and lives on Earth. The constellations affect life cycles. These constellations affect the growth and development of humans and all other creatures. The constellations affect the shift in consciousness of understanding the cycles of life. These cycles foster the understanding of agriculture (plant domestication), animal domestication and human development.

Due to the continuous revealing of historical information, it is no longer credible to believe that 37 and one-half constellation cycles took place before humans were influenced to gain understanding of agriculture even though these constellation changes were influencing them and everything else daily, monthly and yearly over and over again in largely consistent ways and these humans were developing calendars and everything else by paying attention to these cycles. The origin of agriculture took place much earlier than 12,000 or even 22,000 years ago.

According to Ancestor ben-Jochannan, “Along the Nile, there were two groups of Africans; the "Hutu" and "Twa" who take us back into at least 400,000 BCE in terms of artifacts. Among the Hutu and Twa were artifacts such as the “Ankh,” the "Crook" and "Flail."

The importance of the above paragraph is that humans do not move on to higher order things until food sources are secured. Ancestor Barashango reminds us agriculture is the foundation of moving from hunter-gather to being sedentary and thus having the time and thought energy to developing civilization. This tells us that the Hutu and Twa were agriculturalists 400,000 years ago. Africans were doing many things in all areas of civilization such as mining metals, smelting iron, developing calendars, building cities and formulating all the basic sciences, including moral sciences. Before humans on a civilized path would concern themselves with stars, they would concern themselves with the seeds of daily needs and develop an agricultural system first.

Furthermore, the flow of energy in the galaxy comes from the center of the galaxy, its birthplace. As above so below, the flow of energy on Earth comes from central Africa near the origin of the Hapi River, humanity's birthplace. These living Hapi waters flow through Africa and so did knowledge and understanding flow as nutrients along this waterway. The Hutu and Twa were diminutive in physical size but not in strength of understanding. It is unlikely, that these much shorter people could have survived as hunter-gatherers.

Humans grew up and out of the Hapi River Valley as surely as plants grow from seed, yet their main roots remain where first planted. The Hutu and Twa understood these correlations and developed agriculture in Africa at least 400,000 years ago before they figured out how to develop the Ankh.

Conclusion

“Egypt and Western Asia tell the same story. 'In each case we have a standard or measuring-rod of authentic historical record,' declares Samuel Laing, of certainly not less than 8,000 and more probably 9,000 or 10,000 years, from the present time; and in each case we find ourselves at this remote date, in the presence, not of rude beginnings, but of a civilization already ancient and far advanced. We have populous cities, celebrated temples, an organized priesthood, an advanced state of agriculture and of the industrial and fine arts; writing and books so long known that their origin is lost in myth; religions in which advanced philosophical and moral ideas are already developed; astronomical systems which imply a long course of accurate observations. How long this prehistoric age may have lasted, and how many centuries it may have taken to develop such a civilization, from the primitive beginnings of Neolithic and Paleolithic origins, is a matter of conjecture. All we can infer is, that it must have required an immense time, much longer than that embraced by the subsequent period of historical record." (2) In other words, human history and the history of civilization is much longer than the recent 5,000 year history we may have based all our understanding on. Human history runs deep into Africa and into the Universe.

More To Conclude & Expand

Having an exact date of the origin of agriculture is not as important as having a more accurate understanding of world history, thus of self. However, it is important to understand where agriculture started, by whom and that it was a long time ago, much longer than some would mislead school children to believe. What is equally important, is that the location and minimum time frame for the development of agriculture occurred when most groups of people on the planet did not exist. The world was black and African. Out of the last Ice Age, white Africans (Europeans) appeared. Since that time, white Africans interbreeding with black Africans worldwide has sped up the process of physical differences in the human population. This has made it easier for those with ill intent to create confusion about the origin of all people and the origin of civilization and the origin upon which their societies are built. We are one people, one species, one family.

Now back to the final understanding regarding agriculture. What is of the utmost importance is that white Africans (Europeans) did not even exist until no earlier than 20,000 BCE, which is an overly generous estimate. At any rate, prior to 20,000 BCE, African civilizations in Africa were ancient, fully developed, advanced and of high culture. Greeks, the founders of European societies, had to come back home to Africa to attend African Universities to attempt to learn how to do things. Wanting a rich history of their own, they came back and invaded Africa and took huge amounts of knowledge and library books. They put their names on this knowledge and, as a result, history books falsely claim white origins of black knowledge. Even with this knowledge, the lack of harmony and the lack of respect for family, caused white Africans to misuse the knowledge and misuse the way agriculture is practiced. Without merging knowledge of self with other knowledge, knowing how to behave in an ecosystem relationship becomes elusive. Without this barometer and cosmic context, knowledge becomes delusional as to what it is good for. This is so because without merging knowledge with knowledge of self, conflict exists. Conflict exists because knowledge without knowledge of self is low level knowledge which favors incompleteness, weakness, ego and the lower self over their much higher forms. Knowledge of self not nurtured and developed creates many life conflicts as one tries to exist in a universe that depends on knowing self. This necessarily puts a person in conflict with the above, below, within and without. The person has the option to change or remain at war with absolutely everything and everyone.

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Ashe Seeds/Celestials, Sš3t/Tšw8t, Ast/Asr

(1) Jackson, John G., “Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization, A Critical Review of the Evidence of Archaeology, Anthropology, History and Comparative Religion: According to the Most Reliable Sources and Authorities,” (1939) https://archive.org/stream/EthiopiaAndTheOriginOfCivilization/EOC_djvu.txt, Accessed 07/23/15, paraphrased.
(2) Ibid.

Established, Tested, Enduring Perennials Anchor The EcosystemUnity Consciousness #352

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An established plant is able to survive a 12-month period and then, in complement with the ecosystem, take care of itself, endure stress, recover and generate offspring able to do the same.

Annual plants just don't have time to get “established.” Even though annuals grow quickly, many of them don't do well without lots of assistance. It takes an established, tested and enduring understanding to develop the proper relationships within the soil. This is not possible when the transition from an annual perspective to a perennial perspective has never been made without lots of assistance in environments these annuals would never survive in on their own.

On the other hand, throughout history, perennials, have proven the ability to take care of themselves. Perennials have an extensive relationship with the soil. This relationship fosters adaptability which is displayed in one way by deeper and wider-reaching root systems.

Annuals are fearful, distrusting and aggressive due to the shortage of their season and shortage of experience of the environment they are in. As a result, annuals will form just enough relationships to get what they need. Then these annuals put all their energy into one moment's legacy due to the limited understanding of never experiencing the same season twice. Perennials are persistent, then patient because they understand time is not an enemy. Perennials form the proper relationships over years, and only then do they go about producing fruit and even then, only to the degree it supports longevity.

Whereas it is assistance that gives annuals a better chance, it is as an assistant to the ecosystem which gives perennials every possible chance in an ever-changing environment. The weakness of annuals is not understanding how they went from perennials to annuals. The weakness of perennials is an understanding, then and now, of their responsibility in anchoring the ecosystem naturally.

There is sufficient evidence to know an ecosystem dominated by annuals is vulnerable in every way. Equally so, there is sufficient evidence on display of perennials' large role in anchoring the ecosystem, thus, perennials are here to stay.

9 Ways Plants Get Water Naturally, Unity Consciousness #351

9 Ways Plants Get Water NaturallyUnity Consciousness #351

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Including rain, there are 9 ways plants get water naturally.

(1) From other organisms. Water is recycled in the soil ecosystem multiple times before it exits the soil.

(2) From the air. Under certain conditions, through pores in leaves and stems, plants absorb moisture from dew, fog, mist and clouds.
Dew is moisture from the air. This moisture moves from the air onto plants because the plant surfaces have a lower concentration of water than the air at that moment. Dew, condensation and rain are the same things – water moving out of the air. Water molecules slow down as air temperature drops. This allows water molecules to bond until a group of water molecules become heavier than the air can hold. This moisture then falls out of the air. This means it rains every night whether we know it or not, even in the desert because moisture falls out of the air as dew. In other words, dew is moisture that falls a short distance and rain is dew that falls a long distance.
Moisture that falls from air, plants can absorb through pores which go by names such as stomata and lenticels (these are the same things on different parts of the plant). Consider this. Seeds (baby plants) can absorb moisture through their skins.
Also, why is foliar feeding used as a method to get nutrients to plants if the foliage is not absorbing the nutrients through the pores? Pores are simply places in cell walls that can open and close to allow molecules to move in and out of cells.
There's yet another way we know plants absorb water from the air through pores. Grocery stores spray water on fruits and vegetables so these plant parts, most of them without roots, will absorb the water and appear fresher and weigh more.

(3) From other plants. The soil ecosystem assists all plants to the degree it is in balance. A balanced soil ecosystem is able to help move water and other nutrients through the system. A balanced soil ecosystem is able to help facilitate the natural rising of groundwater during moon phases and through the diffusion of nutrients from higher concentrations deeper in the soil to lower areas of concentration nearer the surface and vice versa.

(4) From within the plant itself. When necessary, plants shutdown functions and sacrifice portions of themselves and then use that water and other resources, not just for self but also in consideration of the soil ecosystem.

(5) From organic matter on top of soil. Mulch that has absorbed water will diffuse water into the soil when needed.

(6) From organic matter inside the soil. Just like mulch, organic matter inside the soil absorbs water and diffuses this water into the soil when needed.

(7) From bodies of water. Plants closer to moving or standing bodies of water are able to draw upon these resources in two ways. Nearby soil absorbs this water and plant roots instinctively grow towards this water.

(8) From perennial plants, Mature perennial trees are essential to maintaining the availability of water and other nutrients in the soil ecosystem. Trees drink from deeper and wider in the soil. Tress then constantly release large of amounts of water into the air. This water saturates the air faster and usually causes it to rain more frequently. In this manner, trees assist shallower-rooted plants and annuals.
Tress improve the likelihood of more frequent rain patterns. Trees have a significant impact on how quickly water moves through the water cycle. Even so, all plants participate in the process. Trees and other perennials are more stable and secure and are able to move larger amounts of water. These things benefit annual plants the most.
These are some of the reasons why plants should be planted as a mix of perennials and annuals, just as nature does. Gardens and farms should be this way.

The Sensibility Of The System

Plants share each other's successes and stresses. This distributes the effects of good times and bad times which allows the ecosystem to remain balanced or be easily correctable. This is what makes eternity possible. The Creator must have backup plans – multiple redundancies built into the ecosystem. Without human life all other life continues. Without plant life, most life on Earth ceases. This is how we know there are many ways for plants to get water naturally that go beyond rain and human watering.

Beyond Compost Tea | Garden Teas With NutrientsUnity Consciousness #332

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Compost is simply decaying organic matter. Compost tea is simply organic matter sitting in water for hours or days.

Although compost tea might be the one talked about the most, tea can be made from any organic matter such as wood chips, grass (fresh or dry), straw, manure, leaves, twigs, branches, logs, kitchen scraps (vegetables, fruit, eggshells), coffee grounds, soil, “weeds,” etc. Whatever you would put into the compost, you can put in a bucket of water and make tea.

Put one or more of these items in a bucket, add water (rainwater preferably) and let it sit for a day or two or for a few hours. The natural process of diffusion causes water to move into the organic material and also causes nutrients to move into the water. If you're not persnickety, some urine can be added to "sweeten" the tea with more nutrients. Water left over from boiling or steaming vegetables is already tea, let it cool down to room temperature and pour it around any outdoor plant.

Tea, made by humans, is not necessary for plants or as a blanket application to the entire garden. Tea is only needed when soil is not yet strong and plants are lagging. When soil contains organic matter in various stages of decomposition and is mulched with organic matter, then each time it rains, nutrient tea is automatically made in the soil.

Plants Are Not In Competition For Nutrients & ResourcesUnity Consciousness #319

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”Plants compete for nutrients” is programmed logic repeated without analysis.

All the meadows, pastures, fields, forests, yards, lawns and much more, prove this to be a false notion. In all places where humans have not interfered, plants prove they are not in competition for nutrients and resources because there is no need to be in competition. These plants all live together, mix, intermingle, cooperate and thrive.

Even though it is a certainty that the vast majority of plants do not compete for nutrients, humans insist on sticking with the lie that plants are in competition.

Humans created the illusion of a competitive nature among plants because humans themselves were already competing against each other unnecessarily.

It is a false notion that humans must compete for resources. This lie came into existence and fullness in Eurasia during the Ice Age. The thousands of years of trauma in a cold-as-hell climate deformed tropical man into icehead boy because tropical man went from living amongst civilization, happiness and abundance to living amongst desolation, misery and scarcity.

As a result, these humans have transferred their suboptimal worldview onto plants.

One of the things that makes it seem like plants compete for nutrients is depleted soil. When the soil is not strong enough to naturally supply nutrients, it runs out and plants suffer. Humans take this to mean plants are competing for nutrients when instead it's because there are not enough nutrients in the soil. Humans choose to believe plants compete for nutrients because humans have done so many things that now cause humans to have to purchase nutrients. Because humans only want to pay for nutrients for the plants they want to grow, all other plants are seen as competitors for nutrients. When there are nutrient deficiencies in the soil, it is not because plants competed for the nutrients, it because the available nutrients got used up.

Thought Process To The Truth

If the above is not enough to know the truth, continue to follow the thought process of the intuitive self.

Plants and humans do not need to compete for nutrients so why would we thinks plants and plants need to compete for nutrients? Plants give humans the nutrient of oxygen and humans give plants the nutrient of carbon dioxide. There is more being exchanged by plants and humans. If humans and plants can live symbiotically, what makes us think that plants and plants cannot live symbiotically? We already profess to understand that some bacteria fix nitrogen, a nutrient, for plants. If bacteria help plants out and humans help plants out, simply by humans breathing, what makes us think plants don't help each other out? What makes us think plants are not pre-designed to work things out to share nutrients and resources?

We already know plants work together rather than compete when we talk about companion planting, three sisters and deep-rooted plants pulling up nutrients for shallow-rooted plants.

Despite these truths, we continue to believe that plants only look out for themselves and thus compete with other plants for their needs. We think this way about plants because that is what we deeply believe is the way humans are supposed to behave – be in competition for nutrients and resources. We think this way because those currently with the resources need us to believe they got the resources by competing for them and since they have the resources they must be the better, stronger and more capable and thus worthy of survival at the expense of those they have supposedly out competed. This is pure mental mutation mindset. Icehead boy must promote this type of thinking to pay tribute to the lower self ego which is master over him.

The universe is an ecosystem. An ecosystem is self-sustaining. Self-sustaining requires balance and re-balancing. If competition is the foundation upon which an ecosystem is based, that ecosystem must and will fail. Why? Because any system that competes within itself is a house designed to be forever divided and thus can only be on a certain path to less and less viability, then extinction.

The rules of competition within a system leads to extinction of the system. This means there can be no eternity on earth nor in Heaven. Heaven requires an eternity and an eternity requires an ecosystem. An ecosystem requires cooperation not competition.

Listen people! When competition is a foundational philosophy, there must be winners and losers. There must be adversaries. There can be no harmony. Love has no place.

If whatever philosophies and values and cultures we are following is not helping us reach these understandings, we must get rid of them now.

If competition for nutrients and competition for resources was truly the basis of life and existence, then there would be no such thing as evolution.

The only thing possible would be survival of a lesser and lesser quality. Evolution can only take place under conditions of thriving. Thriving cannot occur until understanding transcends the survival mode and the competition mode.

Time To Start Repeating The Truth About Plants & Humans

Plants give more to creation and return more to creation than they use. Plants are restorers not destroyers. Plants are net suppliers not net consumers. There is no need for plants to compete with each other. The ecosystem is based on cooperation and sharing which optimizes resources and creates abundance for everyone. The ecosystem is not based on competition and greed which suboptimizes resources and creates problems everywhere.

Why would we think plants compete for nutrients when plant material is the bulk of what is in compost and the bulk of what most organic matter is?

It can't be said enough that plants are net contributors of nutrients to the soil.

Plants are a major part of the cycle of nutrients that allows the ecosystem to self-fertilize by not wasting anything.

The ability to live by contributing to one's own needs and each other's needs is a primary component of what sustainable is and what an ecosystem is. It is what the Creator is all about.

In an ecosystem, plants help provide their own nutrients as long as what humans do is helpful not harmful.

For these reasons and more, plants are not in competition for nutrients and resources. If there is a nutrient problem, it is not about plants competing but about humans depleting, more than likely. Curiously, plants seem only to compete for nutrients in human gardens but nowhere else where man has not interfered with the Master Gardener.

By absorbing the essential nutrient of understanding, we can extend what is absolutely true about plants and know the same must be true about humans. If competition for nutrients and resources is a necessity, then this must mean this is not a world of abundance which also means no one can live an abundant life. Abundance for humans can never be achieved in the context of competition. Abundance for plants that is taking place could not be taking place if what was really happening among plants was competition for nutrients and resources. If competition among plants was actually taking place, fewer and fewer plants would survive and then fewer and fewer survivors would survive. This cycle would continue until the system broke down so much, no one could survive. This is exactly what has been happening during the Dark Age terrorism of icehead boy. He became an adversary to himself because he denies knowledge of his true self. He needs everybody to do the same in order to help him prolong his demise. As a result, he orchestrates competition any way he can.

The Optimal Way To Water GardensUnity Consciousness #318

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From the previous message we learned ½ ounce of water sounds like more than enough water for plants to use over the course of one week. This is the guesstimate of water each plant is said to need for itself. Mathematically speaking, ½ ounce of water per week provides a mind- boggling amount of water molecules.

It's a good thing when plants get the water they need but in order for the ecosystem to function optimally, the rest of the soil, other plants and other organisms also need water.

If water is applied only from the perspective of garden plants, we are starting out on the wrong foot and will thus stumble along out of sync. In other words, if we are watering when absolutely necessary but only watering selectively in a given area, we are not helping plants as much as we think we are.

No matter how, when or how much we water plants, that water will also be used by other plants and other organisms. There is no stopping it.

It is a false notion to believe that watering at the base of plants puts water “right where the plants need it.”
(1) Plants need water close, wide and deep – not necessarily just at the base of the plant. It benefits plants to sense water and grow roots to reach the water.
(2) Also, water in the soil near a plant will automatically spread through the soil to areas with less water. The water will move towards the base of the plant on its own. This is the process of diffusion. Diffusion occurs when something moves from an area of high concentration to low concentration. This diffuses the concentration by distributing it. No matter how much we drip irrigate or spray at the base of plants, that water will diffuse through the soil until the water is more evenly distributed in the soil.
This is something the ones of strong faith understand very well. Nyame, the Neters, especially Tefnut, do not just water at the base or plants, specific plants or a specific area. They water the entire garden and ecosystem surrounding it. This is the optimal way to water because the ecosystem is the garden we should be caring for.

How Much Water Do Garden Plants Need Mathematically?Unity Consciousness #317

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How Much Water Do Plants Need?

This is a question best left to the experts.

Plants need just a little more than half a gallon per square foot per week according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kib_FquGP7s.

Plants need 2 gallons per square foot per week according to http://www.ecoyards.com/an-inch-of-water-per-week/

Plants need one inch per week according to http://www.burpee.com/gardening-supplies/watering/watering-your-garden-article10365.html. This amount is the one most commonly used.

How Much Is One Inch of Water?

To determine how much water equals one inch, it is best to start with cubic inches to determine how much water garden plants need.

One cubic inch of water is determined by length times width times depth/height.

1 Cubic Inch = 0.00432900433 Gallons according to http://www.asknumbers.com/CubicInchToGallon.aspx.
Convert gallons to ounces by multiplying 0.00432900433 gallons times 128 ounces and you get 0.55 ounces or approximately ½ ounce.
1 cubic inch of water is ½ ounce of water. Does this mean plants only need ½ ounce of water per week? No it doesn't. It means that every cubic inch of soil should receive ½ ounce of water per week.
Let say there is a 4 foot by 4 foot garden area. That is 16 square feet or 2,304 square inches (48 inches times 48 inches).
This converts to 2,304 cubic inches of soil (48 length times 48 height times 1 depth).
This converts to 1,152 ounces of water needed (2,304 inches of soil times ½ ounces of water).
This converts to a total of 9 gallons of water needed (1,152 ounces divided by 128 ounces in a gallon).
In summary, a 4 foot by 4 foot garden area needs 9 gallons of water per week according to the experts. Well, at least now we can more easily visualize 9 gallon jugs of water and do similar calculations for the actual dimensions of gardens.

The Number of Molecules in a Drop of Water

Plants don't use water by the gallon, ounce or inch. Plants use water by the molecule.
There are 4.716278×10²⁰ water molecules in a single drop of water according to http://www.had2know.com/academics/how-many-molecules-drop-water.html.

For a perspective on just how large this number is, 10 to the 7th power is 10 million. The number of water molecules in a single drop of water is 10 to the 20th power and then also multiplied by almost a factor of 5.

Also, remember, we are told plants need a cubic inch of water per week. How many drops of water are in a cubic inch can be easily visualized. It's the size of four dice. Yet, in that little cubic inch of water are many drops of water and in those many drops are an unimaginable amount of molecules.

Here's one last perspective: “...a cube of water, one inch on a side, contains about 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ("6" followed by 23 zeros, or six-hundred sextillion) molecules! There are 120 times more water molecules in the cubic inch of water than there are stars in the observable universe![This includes the stars viewable with the use of the strongest telescopes] (Per https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/stars_and_drops.htm.)

Okay, just one more perspective.
“...the number of stars in the heavens is "an unbelievably large number," but you will find the same number of molecules "in just ten drops of water." [There are 591 drops of water in one cubic ounce] (Paraphrased from, http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/09/17/161096233/which-is-greater-the-number-of-sand-grains-on-earth-or-stars-in-the-sky.)

The amount of water we are told plants need each week contains an amount of water molecules that makes the stars we can observe look like a drop in the bucket. Do humans really know how much water garden plants need?

This is exactly why you don't water no garden. Gardening is a communal activity and watering is not a human task. Humans would be more productive and far more helpful to plants and ecosystem if, rather than applying more water, humans applied more wisdom and more mulch. The task of watering garden plants is best handled by experts such as Plants, Ancestors, Primordials and Nyame.

Questioning Knowing When & How To Water Garden PlantsUnity Consciousness #316

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Don't water in the evening we're told. Don't water in the middle of the day we're told. Don't water from the top we're told.

Truth is, the natural world does everything we are told not to do. Nature waters in the morning, middle of the day, the evening, at night and middle of the night. Also, the last time I checked, rain falls from above plants and plant foliage gets wet every single time.

When it rains in the evening and at night, foliage is wet and doesn't get overrun with fungal plant diseases just because foliage is wet at night. More than likely, fungal plant disease is caused by ecosystem imbalance just like any other disease.

I suspect humans do add to the imbalance or create imbalance by watering unnecessarily, by using municipal water and by other gardening practices or life practices that work against the ecosystem.

The message, ”You Don't Water No Garden” offers more thoughts on watering garden plants.

Additional Things To Consider

Even when watering at the base of plants and avoiding getting any water on the leaves, the stems of plants still get water on them. Also plenty of water gets on the mulch and the soil which is exactly where the fungi live.

Furthermore, every single night, plant foliage gets wet. This is evidenced by dew. Dew does not form only in the few minutes before the sun comes up. Moisture can form on leaves at any time of night when conditions are right, thus leaves can be wet for hours before being dried by sun and/or air movement.

If the presence of the sun in daytime helps provide conditions that prevent fungal disease, then the absence of the sun at night must help provide conditions that promote fungal disease. Yet, the world of plants is not overrun with nighttime sprouting fungal disease, not even in rainy, wet humid rainforests.

What this means is that there's something else going on causing extreme plant fungal disease in gardens. Something else is going on such as ecosystem imbalance and many other things like tampering and hybridizing and weakening plant genetics, growing plants unsuited to changing climate conditions and human practices that give plant-harming fungi an advantage.

We know food is the same thing as medicine. Since water is also food medicine for plants, perhaps another one of those things out of balance is the health of the water and other nutrients plants are eating.

Water when absolutely necessary and water however you want to as you seek balance in all things - Maat.

Farming - The Gandhian Way

You Don't Water No GardenUnity Consciousness #315

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Uncle Jesse said, “you don't water no garden! God does the watering.”

Many gardeners worry way too much about watering and spend way too much time and money watering their gardens. By mulching, the need for watering is significantly reduced and if enough mulch is added, the need for watering is eliminated. Mulching is a part of soil strengthening. By strengthening the soil, the need for watering is also greatly reduced, even so, no matter how healthy soil is, it must be covered all year long. Mulching and soil strengthening each provide benefits if used alone but both are enhanced by the other. In other words, their individual benefits, when combined, exponentially benefit the ecosystem, plants and gardeners.

Many gardeners worry about watering because one or the other of the above basics is not being done and an ecosystem approach to gardening is not being used. Instead, the focus is on “plants need water, it's my garden and I'm a gardener so I must water my plants.” This kind of thought processing is a setup for additional confusions such as:

(1) Overly emphasizing how many days it has been since it last rained.
This measurement alone is not a good way to know when to water.

(2) Thinking it's time to water because plant leaves are drooping (wilting) in the heat of the day.
Many plants are supposed to reduce the amount of surface area exposed to the sun when it's hot. Humans do. If there is an itch to do something for wilting plants, consider providing shade for portions of the day, just like we do for ourselves and other animals

(3) Thinking water must be constantly added to the soil or added on a scheduled basis through some sort of irrigation just because many gardeners do it.
One of the purposes of strengthening soil and mulching is to retain water and other nutrients in the soil so it doesn't have to be added frequently, or at all, by humans. In strong soil, water and other nutrients are always available and plants can just get them from the soil when needed without having to depend on a gardener knowing when and what plants need.

(4) Concluding a plant must need water because growth seems to have slowed down.
Plants are not supposed to start growing and keep growing at the same rate every day. Also, just because growth above ground is not evident, doesn't mean growth below ground is not taking place. Plants are not supposed to run a three minute mile just because they successfully learned to crawl, walk, trot and jog. It's okay if plants slow down, rest and readjust to changing and less than optimal conditions. A plant alters its genetics to endure less than optimal climate conditions. In the long run, this is beneficial to the plant and the gardener even if “productivity” is less in the short run. Truth is, the process of adapting is also a form of productivity. When plants survive tough times, not only are they capable of greater resilience, they are still able to flourish during the best of times. By watering unnecessarily, gardeners interfere with the tuning process that ensures the plant's long-term toughness, flexibility and viability. The gardener causes the plant to become a dependent on the gardener because the gardener has limited the plant's opportunity to be tested, endure and learn how to take what it has and deal with what it is experiencing. If a plant “doesn't make it,” perhaps a different variety should be tried and/or adjustments should be made to what the gardener is doing or not doing.
By watering unnecessarily, the gardener robs self of another route to understanding Nyame is faithful.

(5) Allowing comparisons to other gardeners to get in the way of natural sense. Also allowing expectations of ideal plant performance to get in the way of taking into account the overall and the specific conditions plants are experiencing.

(6) Allowing the notion of being a gardener to create an “I've got to do something to help my plants grow” mentality. Watering is one of the first things gardeners turn to, then fertilizing. Often, neither is needed in the manner the gardener supplies them.
Nature knows best, when and how. This must become the gardener's grail. Nature is working on a long-range plan for optimum benefit for the ecosystem. A gardener's main job is to help ensure raw materials are available, do what they are being taught by natural world teachers within and without, and then, stay out of the way until there is clearly a need for action.

(7) Unknowingly increasing the need for watering by not mulching, by not strengthening soil, by planting in raised flat level beds and by planting in pots or other types of above ground containers. When plants are not planted in the ground, many of the water supplying benefits of soil and insulating benefits of soil are not available to plants. Combine this with other less than optimal gardening choices and yes, knowing when, how and how much to water can be a stressful chore.

(8) Not using the additional water-saving benefits gained by spacing plants so there is little to no room between them. By spacing plants so as they grow to full size their leaves touch and/or overlap, the outer layer of mulch is cooled, which cools the inner layer, which cools the soil beneath the mulch even further and thus, soil moisture is retained longer. This allows plants that are mulched to still survive and continue to grow when the grass in the yard is suffering. In other words, do not use grass as a way to know when to water garden plants.

Gardening is win-win-win-win-win. Anyone who concludes that the cost-benefit relationship of gardening is just not worth it or is too much work, has not counted even a handful of the benefits but instead has included unnecessary costs. Once watering is removed. gardening effort is miniscule compared to what is gained, some of which can't be gained any other way. Perhaps this is another reason why “you don't water no garden.”

Beginner Gardeners | More Apt To Cross More Learning GapsUnity Consciousness #314

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Being more open and seeking learning opportunities is an advantage beginner gardeners have over many old heads. The willingness to learn gives the baby an advantage over the parent, which is why a child of 18 usually learns much more in those 18 years than the parent in those same 18 years. Length of time alone does not cause change or ensure improvement. Being an initiate of learning does cause change because it combines persistence, patience, understanding and time.

Everyone must cross gaps of understanding. These gaps vary in size. Learning gaps are dividers of knowledge of self. Learning gaps also block consciousness from being able to see multiple utilities in the process of crossing learning gaps.

A gardener must be growing in knowing self in order to grow in consciousness of unifying how parts of the ecosystem are interconnected and interrelated. This includes understanding the fixed and variable nature of Maat, of ecosystem and of self.

Knowing self leads to increasing consciousness of the sameness of self with all else and in all else. This is why the process of knowing self is the same as the process of understanding all else. To be able to grow (raise) something else requires personal growth because the process for growing healthy plants and livestock is the same as growing a healthy self.

In the early stages of gardening, openness to learning allows the student to display new growth. Beginning gardeners are more apt to cross many learning gaps that connect self to the plants and animals they are becoming one with.

Change is a fixed variable component of life and existence. Since change continues, learning must continue. This is something self-anointed master gardeners and other types of experts seem to lose sight of. In latter stages of gardening, understanding acquired tends to lead to a knowledge quagmire. Length of time gardening becomes the default measurement of expertise. This causes learning to slow way down or come to a standstill because the teacher aspect of self, now having gained a bit of understanding, is in the way of the student aspect of self. Understanding that was once utility has changed to understanding that now functions more like futility because that understanding has limited the agility of growing in knowing self. The person has changed from being an initiate of learning to being an officiate of learning. If not re-initiated, so learning is reinvigorated (like the life within plants), not only will this frozen state cause learning gaps to increase like an ever-widening crevasse, the chances of getting trapped on the wrong side of the gap increases. History has proven this to be true. Once this is realized, a person who considers self to be so well-versed on any subject that understanding is no longer moving and growing in accordance with what is needed, that person might not be able to adapt the genetics of thought processes fast enough to change behaviors to allow movement across the learning gap. History has proven this to have devastating, cold-blooded results.

Change is always coming, always arriving, always here influencing and settling in and always going. Life and existence is a process of maintaining rhythm with collective changes so that individual changes are made to stay in sync with the intended level of development. This keeps thought processes fixed and flexible enough to make necessary changes.

Sustainable Ecosystem Gardening RemindersUnity Consciousness #313

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Strengthen Soil

The most productive thing any gardener can do is to apply effort towards strengthening soil. Optimally, soil is strengthened as (1) organic material is increased and (2) an ecosystem approach to gardening is used.

Out of the total time a person applies towards gardening, the majority of that time should be soil strengthening activities. If more time is being spent planting, weeding, watering, etc., the person is not being as productive as possible and neither will the garden. If fact, a gardener who does not spend a significant amount of time strengthening soil is like a person who tries to fill a glass turned upside down – some water is collected on the bottom of the glass but not nearly as much as is collected when the glass is turned upside up. A lot of wasted effort can be avoided by strengthening soil first and always.

Save Seeds

(1) Saving seeds is an inseparable part of ecosystem gardening.
(2) Saving seeds is cost effective.
(3) Saving seeds educates the person about the cycle of the gardening process.

(4) Saving seeds provides a fair advantage. Each time a plant goes through a complete cycle, the plant's genetics are honed and tuned for the environment it is in. This honing and tuning is usually a gradual process. When seeds are saved, the gardener now has a more refined seed than the year before because the seed is more suited to the conditions where it will be grown. Do not allow gardening efforts to go to waste by not saving seeds. Plant saved seeds the next time you want to grow the same plant and you will start out with an advantage. In other words, saving seeds takes advantage of genius.

(5) Many gardeners know that some seeds will not grow the exact same plant or fruit as the plant it came from. This is due to lower-self manipulation of the seed's genetics. This is okay because all that needs to be done is to start planting more heirloom (original, non-messed up) seeds in the form given by the Creator. Gardeners should start “weeding out” of their seed supply, all seeds whose offspring (more seeds) do not hold true to the genetics of the seed it came from.

Gardening On The Rocks & Squashing Confusing MythsUnity Consciousness #311

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Rocks are good. A rock is a mineral. These minerals are the grit in the gut of the soil. Mineral is to rock as flour is to grain. Minerals are rock flour and flour is grain minerals. Rock dust is minerals. Many things sold as soil amendments are crushed rocks: lime, gypsum, sand, greensand, azomite, sulfur, perlite, vermiculite, etc. If it's a mineral, most of the time its original source is a rock.

If rocks are removed from a planting area, reuse them on top of the soil around the plants or the border or somewhere. Do not throw away a single rock or cast away stones. Rocks are not in the way, they are part of the way. Rocks are not a problem, rocks help solve the problem of soil fertility and many other problems.

Squashing A Few Confusing Myths

It's okay to allow squash and zucchini to grow large. Allowing at least one to grow large is necessary to ensure viable seeds are produced so the seeds can be saved. The seeds can also be roasted. Large squashes/zucchini are delicious steamed, baked or fried. Many animals kept at home will eat these large veggies. The large squash/zucchini can be dried, canned, frozen or pickled.

Compost is actually de-compost because composting is actually a decomposition process. Decomposition de-composes what has been composed. It breaks it down. It takes apart what has been put together. "Compost" is an inaccurate confusing term because the opposite is actually taking place.

Nature composts by decomposing on the spot. Scattering household and yard wastes (shredded or not) throughout the garden, under trees, behind bushes (on top or under mulch) is a more direct, ecosystem-efficient way of de-composting.

No need to rotate crops if (1) more than one crop is planted in the same spot at the same time or over the course of a year, or (2) you continue building soil and that soil has continuous de-composition taking place which means it is mulched and thus has a very active soil life of worms, ants, beetles, wood lice, centipedes, etc. or (3) if nothing is planted in the area for a full year or (4) if there is no nutrient or disease problem with the crop. When was the last time someone rotated an apple tree or a blueberry bush? If it is not necessary for perennials, it is not absolutely necessary for annuals. An ecosystem approach minimizes the need for crop rotation of annuals.

Replanting A Gardener's Golden Grail: Nitrogen-Fixing Fixation

13 Reasons Why Some People's Gardens Seem To Do BetterUnity Consciousness #310

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These are some common reasons why some people's gardens seem to do better.

1. Inorganic fertilizers, i.e., manufactured miracle growth.

2. Supercharged soil by adding a lot of organic matter in a plant-ready state or near plant-ready state.

3. An earlier planting date.

4. Starting using plants instead of seeds.

5. Starting seeds indoors.

6. Using a covering over plants outdoors to get an earlier start.

7. Manual watering or automatic watering system.

8. The variety of seeds or plants used.

9. A better balanced ecosystem.

10. Working with the ecosystem rather than against it.

11. Plant or seed placement.

12. Plants or seeds better matched to the ecosystem where planted.

The biggest reason might be being too distracted by comparisons to someone else rather than staying focused on comparing self to the original measuring stick - ecosystems.

It is more productive to ask, “Am I doing the basic key fundamental foundational things in order to get the results I expect?” This does not mean doing every single thing that can be done or that others are doing. It means taking care of the major things that have the greatest impact on healthy results.

Once roots of any system encounter conditions that suits, processes are loosed and no matter how long this seems to take, rapid exponential growth always occurs as proof.

Comparing & Contrasting One Life To Another

Re-Mastering The Master Gardener MentalityUnity Consciousness #306

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Master gardener says this...master gardener says that...

Someone rightly said, "Expertise has a tendency of getting in the way of progress."

An epitome of this truth is the master gardener mentality.

As usual, there are certain humans that feel they are the certifiers of all things in the world, even something mastered long before they came along.

This encourages humans to ego-trip and say, “I'm a master gardener.”

The evidence against humans being masters of gardening is insurmountable. Is there any need to recount what an ecosystem means, is and does?

Master Knowledge Of Self

To have any chance of becoming a master gardener or master of anything representative of the higher spiritual nature, understanding must evolve through the process of knowledge of self.

Gardening is part of science. With just a beginning understanding of what science is, one can begin to grasp the necessity of knowing self in order to know anything else, especially if one hopes to master an aspect of the Creator's science, such as gardening.

As said many times before in many ways, what is sought to be understood is simply a representation, form and aspect of the Creator. It is also a representation, form and aspect of self. This is so because all creation is made in the image of the Creator from the imagination of the Creator.

In order to master gardening, one must understand the Master Gardener who created, designed and established the processes of life in all forms, including soil, plants, humans, Earth and Universe. In other words, in order for “something created” to master “the process that created it,” that “something created” must understand the Creator and the relationship of self to the Creator in order to understand the process that created it.

These three things must become unified in understanding in order to master the understanding. Simply put, the Creator used the creative process of gardening using seeds of spirit and matter to create humans and grow all else into existence. Since the process of gardening was used to create self, one must master self in order to master gardening. One must master the gardening of self in order to master the gardening of anything else.

A so-called master gardener mentality without simultaneous pursuit of knowledge of self is a suboptimal context; therefore, only suboptimal mastery can be achieved. A suboptimal context comes from the lower spiritual nature and interferes with understanding and gardening. "Expertise has a tendency of getting in the way of progress."

Profiting From GardeningUnity Consciousness #305

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No matter what a person does in the act of gardening, despite all the effort and thought processes applied, still does not add up to what the ecosystem does in the act of gardening.

At most, a human contributes 10% or less in the process of helping a seed or plant move from beginning to harvest to returning/recycling in the ecosystem. This is a generous estimate.

The ecosystem contributes 90% of what it takes to get the gardening results humans get. Remember, the ecosystem does not need humans to do what the ecosystem did before humans got here and what the ecosystem continues to do – function as a self-maintaining garden.

With this in mind, it is unwise for humans to expect to reap 100% of the rewards of gardening when 10% or less is being contributed.

The 90% or more the ecosystem contributes must benefit the needs of multiple lifeforms. For this reason, it is more profitable to plant more than one of everything and also more than the amount necessary to satisfy self. When this approach is taken and some plants don't make it or some leaves are eaten, then, it's still all good because it's understood as win-win. This is so because the profit margin from what is given compared to what is received is still an abundant harvest. This is true from a purely fruit/vegetable harvest perspective and even moreso from a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual harvest perspective.

Profiting from gardening is not about maximizing. Profiting is about optimizing.

Optimizing takes into account the needs of all and the needs of the entire self. Maximizing focuses on one thing such as personal profit or how much food can be produced. When maximizing one thing is the focus, inevitably, minimizing multiple things will be the result. So it is in the metaphor of life. Who and what also profit from what we are profiting from?

Replanting A Gardener's Golden Grail: Nitrogen-Fixing FixationUnity Consciousness #303

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Is nitrogen the only thing that needs fixing for healthy growth?

Any gardener worth their germination rate knows the legume family are nitrogen fixers by trade. This has become a gardener's golden grail. Belief in the the nitrogen-fixing ability of beans to aid plant growth has become so fixed, the growth of more understanding has been halted.

Regardless of how nitrogen-fixing is explained in many places, “Fixing” simply means to change a nutrient from one form to another. A nutrient is an element or a combination of elements.

Most, if not all organisms, including humans, bacteria and plants, fix nitrogen. These organisms change the form of nitrogen to allow use by themselves and/or other organisms. In other words, all plants “fix” nitrogen for themselves and for the organisms that eat plants.

One way nitrogen is fixed is via the digestive process. Part of this process breaks down molecules which makes nitrogen available for other body processes. Part of this process also includes fixing nitrogen in the form of liquid and solid waste.

When human cells produce amino acids and then proteins, these cells are fixing nitrogen.

The decomposition process is partly a nitrogen-fixing process.

We are told how many bacteria are in a spoonful of soil. It turns out that bacteria are heavy fixers of nitrogen, even more so than beans (legumes). It would be better for plant growth if gardeners focused on the health of the bacteria in soil rather than focusing on beans (legumes) as a golden grail.

By the way, nitrogen is also fixed by lightning and nitrogen is also contained in rainwater. Thunderstorms provide a double punch of a nitrogen lunch for plants.

Furthermore, all nutrients, not just nitrogen, are “fixed” from one form to another to allow the use of the nutrient. Plants need many nutrients and most, if not all of these nutrients, need to be fixed “changed, transformed.” Same goes for the nutrients all organisms need. Phosphorus is fixed. Potassium is fixed. Calcium is fixed. Magnesium is fixed. And so on.

Changing the form of nutrients (elements) is one of the fundamental universal occurrences. It began with spirit being fixed into matter and spirit and matter being fixed into all else.

Is nitrogen the only thing that needs fixing for healthy growth?

18 Tips, Ideas About Gardening In Clay SoilUnity Consciousness #302

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Soil of clay doesn't mean throw away.

1. Clay soil is not bad soil. The clay portion of soil is good stuff that contains a lot of nutrients.

2. Clay soil is simply a type of soil that contains very little to none of the "juicy" portion that some types of soil contain. What I refer to as the juicy portion is several inches of topsoil/humus. The juicy portion is also composed of lifeforms that live in the soil and their byproducts. The juicy portion of soil is not completely a separate distinct layer. Some of it might be but some is mixed in with clay. Soil is formed in gradients and degrees of soil types. Soil gradually changes the way a slope does as you go deeper and as you move outward from any single spot. This is why there are often several types of soil in a given yard.

3. There are different degrees of clayishness that is considered and referred to as clay soil. Try to gain a general feel for the degree of how clayish (soft or hard) your clay soil is. This will help when considering how to work with the soil you got. This will help you avoid completely following advice for clay soil that might not apply to your clay soil. By having a feel for the degree of how much juice your soil does not have, you will be better able to make adjustments to information you come across. You can then adjust the planning, type of plants, mulching and organic additions necessary to improve your chances for better results.

4. Clay soil holds moisture because clay soil is a like a sponge that is harder the drier it is and softer, the wetter it is. As the juicy portion of soil is restored, clay soil becomes more workable.

5. In many places and in many soils, if you dig deep enough, usually less than 2 feet, you will hit layers of clay.

6. Clay soil has a place and purpose. Perhaps it is supposed to be that way where it is. Perhaps not. We should not allow ourselves to be taught that there should be no clay soil anywhere just as we would not think that about sandy soil or rocky soil.

7. Clay soil has many uses. A few of which are for making pots, bricks, humans, and lots of things for many creatures. Intuition connects me to the understanding that it is the clay portion of soil and clay layers of soil that allows some burrowing creatures to have homes underground that don't cave in on them and that can absorb moisture and/or redirect moisture.

8. Clay is a conductor of electricity. Clay soil has a negative charge.

9. Clay soil can be transformed immediately by digging it up and adding a lot of organic material. Some organic material such as wood chips and sawdust is said to have a negative effect in the short-term in an area where plants will be immediately planted, especially annuals.
Clay soil can also be transformed by simply adding a lot of organic material on top of the soil and then being patient. A combination of these methods also works by digging enough room for the plants or seeds, adding organic material in the hole or trench and then covering with more organic material and then mulching the entire area around plants (the whole garden). For annuals, the organic material added into the hole should be pretty much decomposed. For perennials, this is not as important. I have put leaves into a hole with a perennial plant and it served as an interior moisture retainer, a magnet for worms and other decomposers and thus an interior source of slow-release nutrients. The plant did well with the addition of exterior mulch at the time of planting and from time to time as material became available which was usually coffee grounds, egg shells and leaves in the fall

10. Even without a lot of the juicy portion, clay soil will still support the growth of many types of plants as it softens up due to moisture and the activity of soil life as the result of mulch.

11. Clay soil helps plants, especially perennials become stronger because it gives their roots something to work through and hold on to in order to support their weight, endure winds and handle other stresses.

12. Many of the minerals deep rooted plants are said to bring up from the soil, obviously come from layers of clay.

13. The various degrees and coarseness of clay soil represent nutrients in transition stages between nutrients in the form of solid rock and nutrients in the form of topsoil.

14. The reason many people have a negative reaction to clay soil is due to being trained to think one way - that it takes more effort to “work” clay soil. This is only partly true when the decision is made to dig up all the soil instead of just digging enough room for the plants or seeds.

15. Another reason for the dislike of clay soil is the notion that plants don't grow as fast and as big in clay soil. I'm sure this is true in some types of clay soil that is unmulched. Mulching helps soften the soil for digging by humans and other lifeforms including roots.
There was a spot where I wanted to plant a tree in clay soil but could not get the garden fork to penetrate the soil at all. It was like concrete. I covered the area with a full wheelbarrow of wood chips and then poured a full wheelbarrow of water on the wood chips. The next day, I was able to dig a hole a foot deep.

16. To make life easier in any soil type, mulch the ground before doing anything and/or let it rain on the area and/or soak the area yourself.

17. You can choose to grow what grows best in the type of clay soil you have and/or you can choose to change the composition of the soil so you can grow what you want to grow1 and/or you can do some of both. Your degree of understanding, persistence and patience will determine what it takes.