Primary Nutrients for Plants [PDC Preview]

This video is pulled from Geoff's Online Permaculture Design Course. To learn more watch the free 4-Part Permaculture Masterclass Series: www.discoverpermaculture.com/... or join Geoff's Online Permaculture Design course:
www.discoverpermaculture.com/....
Brief Overview
The three main primary nutrients for plants are the familiar NPK: Nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. These can all be sourced naturally.
Nitrogen comes from trees and plants that have bacterial colonies on their roots that fix nitrogen into the soil. With annuals, we simply wait for the plants to die, and the roots release the nitrogen into the soil, but with perennials, we have the potential of adjusting this cycle. The basics of adjusting this cycle are that nodules on the roots provide nitrogen in exchange for starch produced from photosynthesis. Then, using techniques like pollarding and coppicing, which cause a self-pruning of the root system, the plants naturally provide nitrogen in the soil, as well as other useful functions like high-quality mulch from chop-and-drop pruning and forage/food.
Phosphate is said to be deficient worldwide, but it is also something that can be supplied easily and naturally. Bird manure is very rich in phosphate, so poultry and abundant wild birds can provide it. There are also certain trees-palms and casuarina-that fix phosphate into the soil, much like nitrogen-fixing plants do nitrogen. The difference here is that it’s a fungal relationship with the roots rather than a bacterial one. Nevertheless, the exchange is similar, and that means that the detritus from these trees is also rich in phosphate.
Potassium is much easier. It is present in all green material, so just by making sure that green organic matter has a place in the garden system, potassium levels should be sufficient.
Otherwise, seagrass and residue from fish, specially processed seawater and rock dust add lots of minerals to the soil. Livestock can also be fed mineral supplements as part of their health routine, and it will come through in their manure. For that matter, composting systems and vermiculture also provide an abundance of minerals for quality soil.
Key Takeaways
- The main primary nutrients for soil are nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium: NPK.
- Nitrogen comes from trees and plants that have bacterial colonies on their roots, exchanging nitrogen for starches from photosynthesis.
- Phosphate comes from either bird manure or plants that have a similar exchange as nitrogen-fixing trees, but this time with phosphate-fixing fungi.
- Potassium is present in all green organic material.
- Other sources of minerals include seagrasses, specially processed seawater, livestock manure, and compost/vermiculture systems.
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[@mrpatchy9950]

Geoff Lawton is a born teacher , simplifying complex issues into understandable bites. Easy to to implement.

[@aaaaaa2206]

_"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it."_

[@downundervlogs]

I really enjoy how you pause after explaining something throughout as it gives me a chance to understand .

[@decordelights_]

yeah I love that too it adds to his eloquence

[@lpmoron6258]

Enjoy the content but I have trouble hearing him.

[@sushilneupane8203]

​@higheloclips

[@sushilneupane8203]

​@higheloclips

[@sushilneupane8203]

​@higheloclips

[@SmallSeeds]

Anyone taking your online PDC is learning from one of the best! So glad it is open for enrollment until the end of April.

[@saskiaseaglass9504]

Everything is de-mystified when Geoff is in front of the blackboard. :) Thanks you- very easy explanation to follow, learnt a lot. Also can see how this relates to our bodies with acid or alkaline forming foods.

[@yengsabio5315]

The chirps in the background are a pleasant addition to the learning process. Helps shorten the learning curve so to speak!

[@MrLaner110]

Totally agree. Really nice touch

[@joeb8167]

Fascinating and practical explanation! I must have slept through those lessons in chemistry/biology class! Thank you! We all have heard of 'acid rain', yet the how and why it affects soil and plant life seems to not be explained in the media. You are a great teacher Geoff!

[@nutequest]

Love the way you explain things and talk through everything. As a person with eyes that don’t work, auditory learning is my jam. Keep up the good work.

[@avancalledrupert5130]

Me too . I won't even watch those vide without narration. I learn anything from it. My brain is looking to reduce any topic to bullet points it can repeat at the appropriate time to instruct my hands to follow. It's the only way I can understand anything. Monkey see monkey do no good for me . Monkey hear monkey repeat is best for me.

[@bbob288]

I love Geoff "this will be the plants, there coming in with their little green recycled shopping bags" 🤣 Great lesson 🙏

[@the_real_hislordship]

"They're coming in..." They are contraction

[@LuckyFigFarm]

A simplified delivery of a potentially complex topic. Thanks!

[@ruthlongridge2137]

THis is the best explanation I ever came across. Thanks

[@naturewoman1274]

You're a great teacher I'm a visual learner your video makes sense to me... thanks Jeff

[@TheWeedyGarden]

That was the BEST explaination I have EVER seen on PH Geoff. Thanks soo much my friend. You are so good at this! I just shared it to my group so others can finally “get it” as well. Now I understand it. Love the birds in the studio or did you have the wondow open? 😁🙏👍🏼

[@jordanhernandez8590]

Posted a week ago. I just found this guy, glad to know he still actively teaching promo culture, and not just a mythical figure from times long past

[@adnanalhasan3746]

When I watch your videos, I remember when we were in the greening the desert Project, and how you could simplify things so that we could understand them .. Thanks Brother

[@anne-mariettappous9759]

You're the best teacher! Amazing!

[@jjstormwolf2865]

Explanation! Excellent!

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

Hey Geoff! The supermarket analogy was an eyeopener for me. Cheers!

[@alexanderockenden2564]

I did not know PH was a non-linear scale. Always learn something new with these vids.

[@vicknairfirm]

Thank you. Wonderfully educational. The best explanation I’ve seen.

[@muhammadsalman1676]

My sincere thanks for teaching us in a manner that's so relatable and understanding.

[@AlhadMahabal]

pH is a function. How beautifully explained!

[@krisinsaigon]

I've been hearing the term pH ever since i was at school, and already know above 7 is for alkali and below 7 is for acid. Yet until now no one has ever told me it stood for % Hydrogen before, which makes total sense as I know acids work through having Hydrogen. Nor did I know the pH scale is logarithmic in nature. Just a few seconds into this, with the very first words you have said, you have taught me things I never knew before, and which will be of help to me if I am successful in trying to start permaculturing. Thank you so much for ths and all your other videos and work. I just paused this after 1 minute to type this comment and I sure the next 12 minutes will be of great value

[@jockcherokee5180]

Really useful explanation of something I’ve never been confident with before. Thanks Geoff.

[@copiouslivingroom-akos8889]

Thank you 🙏 so much this was amazingly explained!!!

[@moanamason2454]

Excellent instruction. Thank you.

[@nohandle23]

Thatz a great deal of information. Thank u Geoff....

[@gwynnethvanjaarsveld7030]

Thank you for explaining things so clearly and beautifully,Geoff.I always feel so inspired after watching your videos! L

[@Teo-S]

Geoff, I like that you made the ph topic (nutrients for plant) simple and easy to understand.

[@skippy5506]

I really enjoyed this, your a wonderful teacher, thanks Geoff 😁

[@TheModernHermeticist]

Glorious lesson, thanks Geoff, looking forward to implementing some of your teachings later this year...

[@dilipnilakhe5443]

This is different perspective to look at the soil quality and what elements it lack before jumping in and start farming and expect great result, thanks Geoff for explaining in simple way

[@EthanErenditsov]

Thank you Geoff! Your teaching flows directly into me!

[@mattt5027]

You make things very easy to understand, thanks Geoff

[@jardinvivant]

Thank you sooo much for your videos ! I am learning sooo much from you. I am from France and learning from you and others. Now I understand more how PH works. Loving what you are doing.

[@Happy-lk9yr]

What a brilliant course!!!!this man IS brilliant!!!!thanks for sharing!!!

[@lindarodriguez5806]

Thank you so much for that brief but excellent tutorial on the meaning of PH and soil. Absolutely fantastic!

[@jameswaterhouse-brown6646]

Thank you so much Geoff

[@saladin333]

tHANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATIONS PROVIDED. all THE BEST

[@philbuilds116]

This was a great video to shake the rust of the Ph scale that I haven't used in almost 20 years.

[@subash15]

Thank you!! This is excellent information.. much appreciated 🙏

[@tim1338]

7 will still be in the middle if you add the 0 and 14 into the scale, I cant see the point of going from 1-13

[@plutusiek]

Great explanation of this pH issue. Thank you !

[@5ivearrows]

Great video- adding on to this is the redox state of the soil, which is just beginning to be understood. Many of the metallic elements that plants require such as iron, manganese, copper, cobalt also have to be in the reduced (non oxidized) state to be physiologically available to plants.

[@arc5916]

Wow! Thank you for sharing your wisdom:-) I'm very interested about permaculture..

[@dinosaur0073]

Thank you Geoff.....I didn't know the important of ph, the moment I increase the ph value the plant start to grow faster....amazing

[@RealNewsChannel]

Good lesson in Pedology/edaphology. Keep the lessons coming...

[@atulpj]

Thank you Mr. Geoff. I will make the corrections you suggested. Obliged for the valuable info and effective presentation.

[@jeancampbell4341]

Thank you. This is the Best explanation of PH ever.

[@whimsylore]

Thanks for this explanation, it really helped me understand.

[@timgilligan3885]

Amazing thanks!

[@MooreDick]

really liked the grocery store example :)

[@dextervandendowe8329]

Geoff, excellent job. Got to address poison vs insects in the next episode!

[@spaideman7850]

i just got enlightened. thanks!

[@goldenboy0712]

This is great, but just wanted to point out that when he was describing lime and sulpher that he said it right, but drew it wrong. Sulphur makes things acidic, and lime makes things more alkali.

[@loneforest6541]

geoff is the best

[@rodrigogarcia354]

Amazing.... Thankx

[@xavierroy5254]

Thank you

[@joansmith3492]

Holy smoke stacks! that was a lot! Thank you!

[@mojavebohemian814]

Thank you.

[@shanyialexander]

love it 👍🏼

[@aletheiai]

Just in case someone is headed for a science test, pH actually means "potential of H" (as in 'potential difference') or "power of H".

[@andanssas]

I appreciate the correction, but I still wonder, why is it *Hydrogen* that regulates acidity/alkalinity?

[@freshfromthegarden5892]

So when we are taking about hydrogen on the pH scale, were really taking about protons H+, aka the positive ions of hydrogen. We talk about it because it varies in different soils and influences plants. Specifically, there are other charged ions such as magnesium, potassium, etc. that plants need and the acidity of the soil influences how easily the plant roots and uptake them. By definition, pH is a scale for protons but you can also look at other scales. For example, pOH-, the inverse of the pH scale. Or if you wanted to you could make a pMg+ scale for magnesium though typically I think you would just describe the parts per million (ppm) for other ions. Hope that helps clarify. Tldr: the amount of protons present is important for chemistry

[@aletheiai]

@@andanssas To amplify Fresh From The Garden's accurate description, it's all about the balance/flow of electrons. Protons (H+) accept electrons because the cation (+) has lost an electron from its only shell. Anions (-) donate electrons because they have extras. Picture the situation with electrolytes, where electrons flow from -ve to +ve.

[@aletheiai]

@@andanssas On second thought, you probably meant "why hydrogen, but not other cations"? Removing hydrogen's only electron exposes its FULL positive nuclear charge, which is more potent than stripping one of several electrons from a larger atom. Thus, the strongest acids (HCl, HNO3, H2SO4) rely on hydrogen. Our bio-physiology mostly relies on weaker cations --- for example, the propagation of "electrical charge" along an axon relies on a transmembrane imbalance of Na+ and K+. Post-discharge, membranous Na/K protein pumps restore the resting-state imbalance.

[@valeriesanchez3074]

An acid is a substance that donates hydrogen ions. Because of this, when an acid is dissolved in water, the balance between hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions is shifted. Now there are more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions in the solution. This kind of solution is acidic.

[@flatsville1]

Got chemistry background? This made more sense to me. Though we speak freely of soil pH, what’s actually being measured by a soil test kit is the pH of the soil solution because pH only has meaning in relation to water and to minerals in contact with it. Technically, pH measures the level of free hydrogen ions (positively charged ions) in a water solution. The more hydrogen ions, the more acidic the solution and the lower the pH. Most pH treatments are themselves either quite alkaline or acidic. They will only shift the pH in one direction. Loosely speaking, an acidic amendment provides free hydrogen ions, while an alkaline one absorbs them. More precisely, they interact with other soil chemicals in ways that either release or attach hydrogen ions. These soil amendments work more quickly than compost can. If a quick or drastic shift in pH is called for, these are the way to go. Compost, by contrast, has a nearly neutral pH. The composting process itself produces various acids. But by the time it has cured, its pH should be around 6.5. Most soil amendments designed to adjust soil pH have very simple molecules. However, compost consists of large, complex and diverse compounds that provide both negatively-charged attachment points and numerous hydrogen atoms. Which of these comes into play depends on the pH of the soil in which the compost is placed. Acidic soil suffers from an overabundance of positively-charged hydrogen ions. When compost is added, its many negatively charged attachment sites attract and bind the hydrogen. When enough hydrogen ions are taken out of solution, the pH level of the soil rises.

[@hughstinnette1771]

Brilliant

[@susanmyer1]

I finally understand pH.

[@LeChristEstRoi]

A great teacher and a master in his domain. Orthography though... ;-)

[@rizwanrashid5621]

Thanks sir for yor great effort, i love the way you teach Sir i am from India, please make video on apple scab , PGR sprays and nutrition management in apple trees. Thanks

[@DsHomeyGarden]

Dwayne from Georgia. Thank you for your teachings...how does one measure PH if you have 4-6 inches of different types mulch and composted materials in a particular gardening area! I have never asked this to anyone before. Again...Thank you.

[@riwi27]

Hei GEOFF, I Will take PDC next month with Khrisna of Bumi Langit.

[@danielly9468]

Hello Mr. - I would like to thank you for your valuable sharing. I have a question "If the soil is salty, what should we do and the soil is contaminated with alum (Fe3O4), what should we do? Look forward to receiving an answer from you because my area often meets the school very often. Thank you very much.

[@drchomesolar]

If we graduated from your Online PDC a couple years ago do we get a discount to sit in it when it comes back around. I’d like to listen in again and refresh my brain.

[@DiscoverPermaculture]

Hi Darrell, yes there are alumni discounts. Email us at [e-mail] - Thanks Bonnie (GLO team member).

[@pagevpetty]

love your stuff, thanks. I think you mixed up alkaline and acidic water ~

[@ausexit9567]

Much prefer this presentation than the giggling guy. Thank you.

[@johanspennare5974]

The term "Freee card" in relationschips..... Gef lawton is mine.

[@valeriesanchez3074]

The stronger the acid, the more readily it donates H+. For example, hydrochloric acid (HCl) is highly acidic and completely dissociates into hydrogen and chloride ions, whereas the acids in tomato juice or vinegar do not completely dissociate and are considered weak acids; conversely, strong bases readily donate OH− and/or react with hydrogen ions. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and many household cleaners are highly basic and give up OH− rapidly when placed in water; the OH− ions react with H+ in solution, creating new water molecules and lowering the amount of free H+ in the system, thereby raising the overall pH. An example of a weak basic solution is seawater, which has a pH near 8.0, close enough to neutral that well-adapted marine organisms thrive in this alkaline environment.

[@paupiripau]

I always be worried about the ph, now I realized that if I play the game of adding organic matter as a religion, it will be buffered. So no more worries! Thank you to teach te world!

[@flatsville1]

This pH scale is: 1. Backwards from traditional representations. It's disorienting. 2. The scale should run fron 0 - 14. 3. Lime added to an acid soil brings it closer to neutral (increase to 7.) Sulphur (elemental) added to an alkaline soil brings it closer to neutral (decrease to 7.) The arrows are drawn in the wrong direction. The point of these amendments is to move towards neutral (7). The "grocery store rows" accessability where minerals are concerned are visually represented here using the traditional visualization of the scale 0 - 14, left to right. (N, P & K need separate scaling.) nrcca.cals.cornell.edu/nutrient/CA5/CA0539.php

[@gsmgsa]

It is not linear also. It's exponential function... which cannot be a flat line.

[@danielwilson5583]

Should we add a little sulfur to our neutral soil where the blueberries are planted?

[@vthilton]

Save Our Planet

[@gulizarozer2257]

What about using bokashi compost for soil, is it beneficial for the soil as its said, or too asidic

[@JordanLover18]

What form of sulfer should be added? Is that organic?

[@ryanlove8242]

Can you recommend a reliable source for buying the designers manual? My mother ordered it online and it never came. She is still waiting on the refund to try and get it again. I am bummed because i wanted to study the material before taking your PDC. Thanks in advance! I consider You and Paul Stamets my gurus and i am eternally grateful for everything you do for kids like me. Cheers from Aromas California. :D

[@DeepakSharma-sb4mt]

Buy directly from tagari publications, It is expensive but I received the original copy.

[@ryanlove8242]

@@DeepakSharma-sb4mt awesome thank you! I would rather pay more and actually get it. Much love from Aromas California!

[@zngrrr]

thank you for the video, one view isnt enough :)

[@Appealsman]

Gypsum is CaSO4, the S being sulphur. Why wouldn't gypsum lower soil PH?

[@MrLaner110]

Quick question, I was a bit confused with the lime and sulphur bit. Adding lime to the soil will reduce pH correct (more acidic)? And adding sulfur will increase pH?

[@LucasAdorn]

its the other way around. he switched it.

[@flatsville1]

Generally, lime is used to raise soil pH level to neutral and sulphur is used to lower it. The scale is backwards from traditional visual representations. Running the the pH scale from 13 -1 was also disorienting...which is why it seems got it backwards? What he was saying seemed disengaged from what he was drawing. Take a mulligan. Re-do the vid. Use a 0-14 scale from left to right as normally displayed. So, the toilet water below the equator runs in the opposite direction?...as do the numeric scales? 😂😂😂

[@MrLaner110]

@@LucasAdorn OK I thought so too. Thanks for clarifying!

[@audreybarnes6527]

💕💕💕

[@uroskumer8269]

i didnt realy understand how can i bring my ph down. i need to bring it down foe 1

[@jaydnhughes6947]

You often say your farm it bushfire proof and flood proof. Do you think all your work could be undone with 20min if acid rain?

[@miracleshappen4483]

What were we thinking? The most obvious solution is to change lifestyle! 💖🌱🌞

[@flatsville1]

Can't wait untill he tries to explain Eh Redox & the relationship to pH. I suppose he'll reverse the x & y axis for better "clarity" & reverse the numeric values as well.

[@magapefarmshomestead6453]

While you may not understand why you really don't want to use dolomite. The lime in it may help the ph level some of the other minerals that are part of it will tie up other things and make them unavailable for years to come. But if you want to spend money on supplements that's your business.

[@gor4988]

Geoff ! It's Al u min I um

[@user-jg7zu6uu7x]

Отлично! Но Джефф, у Вас огромная аудитория в России, а субтитров на русском нет, это огромный минус. С уважением Константин.

[@gsmgsa]

POTENTIAL!! of Hydrogen

[@foodhealsus]

Clarity

[@theecoiqproject5859]

Ph without understanding ‘eh’ is fractured and irrelevant regarding true soil health

[@LilianaUsvat]

Thank you