Posts tagged: nutrients

Amazing look at the mineral and nutritional deficiencies of conventionally grown foods. Maybe that’s why organic foods taste richer, have more vibrancy and are better for you!
In brief, it is the idea that certain plants (often deep-rooted ones) will draw up nutrients from the lower layers of the soil, and these nutrients will be deposited in the plants’ leaves. When the leaves fall in autumn and winter and are broken down, those stored nutrients are then incorporated into the upper layers of the soil where other plants will benefit from their deposition.
Here is a list of well studied dynamic accumulators that can be used in a Temperate Climate. The nutrients that they provide are abbreviated in bold:
Abbreviation Key
- Ca = Calcium
- Co = Cobalt
- Cu = Copper
- Fe = Iron
- K = Potassium
- Mg = Magnesium
- N = Nitrogen (in this case, these plants are nitrogen fixers)
- Na = Sodium
- P = Phosphorus
- S = Sulfur
- Sugar Maple, Acer saccarum K, Ca
- Maples, Acer spp. K
- Yarrow, Achillea millefolium K, P, Cu
- Chives, Allium schoenoprasum K, Ca
- Black Birch, Betula lenta K, P, Ca
- Birches, Betula spp. P
- Shagbark Hickory, Carya ovate K, P, Ca
- Hickory, Pecans, Carya spp. K, Ca
- German Chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile K, P, Ca
- Chicory, Cichorium intybus K, Ca
- Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida K, P, Ca
- Horesetails, Equisetum spp. Ca, Co, Fe, Mg
- Beeches, Fagus spp. K
- European Beech, Fagus sylvatica K, Ca
- Strawberry, Fragria spp. Fe
- Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens Mg
- Licorices, Glycyrrhiza spp. P, N
- Black Walnut, Juglans nigra K, P, Ca
- Walnuts, Juglans spp. K, P
- Lupines, Lupinus spp. P, N
- Apples, Malus spp. K
- Alfalfa, Medicago sativa Fe, N
- Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis P
- Peppermint, Mentha piperita K, Mg
- Watercress, Nasturtium officinale K, P, Ca, S, Fe, Mg, Na
- Silverweed, Potentilla arserina K, Ca, Cu
- White Oak, Quercus alba P
- Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia K, Ca, N
- Sorrels, Docks, Rumex spp. K, P, Ca, Fe, Na
- Salad Burnet, Sanguisorba minor Fe
- Savory, Satureja spp. P
- Chickweed, Stellaria media K, P
- Comfreys, Symphytum spp. K, P, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg
- Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale K, P, Ca, Cu, Fe
- Basswood, Tilia Americana P, Ca, Mg
- Linden (Lime in the UK), Tilia spp. P, Ca
- Clovers, Trifolium spp. P, N
- Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica K, Ca, S, Cu, Fe, Na
- Vetches, Vicia spp. K, P, N
- Violets, Viola spp. P