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Soil Cultivation

Shift Soil Remediation. Eating Soil: Holy, Nourishing or Just Plain Dirty? Is there such a thing as soil-borne wellness? Researchers are discovering an even bigger yield from fruits and vegetables than previously expected, although the concept of eating soil is an ancient Chinese tradition. The Tomb Sweeping Festival (also known as the Qingming festival) dates back more than 2500 years and is always held on the 104th day after the winter solstice, which usually occurs around April 5th. This marks a time when people visit the graves of their forefathers, pray at a shrine for the Buddhist King of Remedies and eat the soil surrounding the holy temple.

The festival is an outgrowth of Hanshi Day, which translates literally into day with cold fold only. “The weirdest thing was that it wasn’t just one person who ate of the soil. If you can get beyond an immediate revulsion, think about it for just a minute. Will dirt tastings soon become as prevalent as wine tastings? Will hosts of these sessions serve soiled napkins to get testers in the mood? (Link) National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com. By Brad Scriber and Emily Krieger, National Geographic staff Though people have spoiled huge tracts of the world's soil, there's good news: It can be restored, and many proven methods are surprisingly simple. In the African Sahel, a zone between the Sahara and tropical forests that has been hard hit by drought and famine in recent decades, much of the land has a hard time absorbing rainwater. In this region, what happens to the water after it falls is as important as how frequently it falls. Farmers and development experts have revived and improved traditional techniques to help the land get the most from every drop.

In one method, rows of stones called cordons pierreux are placed along the contours of the land to slow runoff. Gradually, silt and seeds are deposited along these strategically placed barriers, and small plants that grow in these deposits are even more effective at slowing and holding later rains. Bibliography Cofie, Olufunke, Boubacar Barry, and Deborah Bossio. Soil Mineral Depletion - Can a healthy diet be sufficient? | Institute for Optimum Nutrition. You eat a nutritious diet and avoid anti-nutrients, so you should be getting all the minerals you need to stay healthy. Or are you? Martin Hum digs up the dirt on why the nutrient content of our food is on the decline. "We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than we do about the soil underfoot". These words of Leonardo da Vinci are almost as true today as they were 500 years ago. To understand the story of soil minerals, we have to go back 12,000 years to the end of the last ice age.

To a large extent minerals have been, and continue to be, recycled in natural ecosystems – taken up by plants, consumed by animals and then returned to the soil through their wastes and decomposition of their bodies. But things have gone badly wrong. Most of the blame lies with artificial chemical fertilisers. Pesticides and herbicides also reduce the uptake of trace minerals by plants. Reduction in average mineral content of fruit and vegetables between 1940 and 1991. Let Your Kids Get Dirty! - 5 Benefits of Playing in the Dirt. Bacteria Found In The Soil Activated A Group Of Neurons That Produce The Brain Chemical Serotonin. Blog | Dirt! Welcome to Soil-net.com!! Dirt the Movie.