Growing from the Ground Up

I was digging a hole in the back of a flowerbed the other day, preparing to plant a rosebush. Usually after the amount of rain we’ve had, this would be a frustrating chore. My feet would sink into the soil, and inches of clay would cling to the bottom of my clogs.

But in the six years we have lived here, Larry and I have been mulching and composting and amending the soil almost non-stop. Slowly the earthworms have returned, the soil has become lighter and more nutritious for the plants, and I can step in a flowerbed without being weighed down by clay.

We have not relied on chemical fertilizers like Miracle-Gro to give us large plants and flowers. They work with the plant tissues, not the soil, so they have short-term benefit. For the long term, you need to feed the soil: the matrix in which the plants live, and from which their roots draw nutrients. (To see pictures of our garden, visit www.elserenoessences.com.)

As I was patting myself on the back for the improved soil, I realized that I have the same philosophy towards maintaining health in the body.

I can keep myself functioning with sugar and coffee and chemicals in the forms of supplements, but below the surface the lack of nourishment takes its toll.

Real food creates the framework for health in every cell. Vegetables that grow in rich well-fed organic soil have high nutrient contents that strengthen and renew my body. (At least one study has shown that organic produce is higher in nutrients than non-organic.)

Just as the well-fed soil helped the trees on our property create strong root systems that kept them standing through the recent winds and rain, eating whole food on a daily basis gives me a foundation for health even during stressful times.