We had a medical morning, with a long wait for the doctor (a Lenski fan) and plenty of good news resulting from the visit. I brought along Teaming with Microbes. I just read Teaming with Nutrients by the same author - and took notes.
I am shocked by all the new research on soil dependencies, which make my earlier knowledge equal to the experts on TV who advocate spraying, digging, and tilling. I had time in the waiting room to go through the Teaming with Microbes chapter on fungus. I knew they were an important part of the rotting process, but I merely thought, "Fungus forms on dead, damp plants, fungus eaters stop by to eat, and the cycle continues as the predators become the prey in stages."
Thanks to the authors, I now realize that fungi are not only the primary decomposers in the soil, but also the champions at distributing nutrition to the plant roots. I will summarize their astonishing characteristics, which were only beginning to be known after my reading spell.
- "A teaspoon of good garden soil may contain several yards of fungi hyphae (branches), invisible to the naked eye.... (Teaming with Microbes, p. 62).
- Their enzymes can dissolve lignin, the tough part of cellulose (p. 64).
- Their hyphal tips grow through the soil and extend the reach of the fungus, which is a long, tubular structure that conveys nutrients for growing while interacting with roots (p. 64).
- "Like bacteria, then, fungi can be seen as living containers of fertilizer" (p. 65).
- Fungi can extend from the leaf litter on top of the soil to the roots below (p. 66).
- Fungi can obtain nutrition from several sources at the same time (p. 66).
- Plants control fungi by providing what the fungi need, which makes the fungi give up nutrients for the tempting carbon exuded from the roots (p. 66).
- Fungi, as primary decomposers, provide nitrogen to plants, as a waste product or in swaps (p. 67).
- Fungus growing ants show a three-way mutual relationship, with ants and fungus and an antibiotic.
Creation Gardening eliminates useless labor by banning rototilling and excess digging. As the head of this movement, I am appalled that anyone would stir anything into the soil, which means breaking up the structure of the soil. Fungal hyphae are making their connections, tunneling between plants, giving and receiving. Various soil creatures will pull down anything on the surface, which should be mulched, not bare.
As predicted, the crepe myrtle bush is bursting into bloom after a severe Lyle Lovett cut. I continue to prune the lower branches of all growth and place the debris under the bush as mulch. Pruning adds energy to the plant and forces root growth. Mulch feeds and protects the earthworms and fungi. Yesterday I added Epson salt to the crepe myrtle and all the roses.
Describing the complex mutual relationships in the garden would take several books, so the material above is just a summary about one carefully designed part of Creation.
The Scriptures have a mutual relationship even more complex and mutually dependent. For example, the Good Shepherd passage of John 10 is linked to the whole of Scripture by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we do not look at John 10 by itself but in relation to Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40 - plus all the references to sheep, shepherds, lambs, and wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7). There are roughly 500. "I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered."
Those who do not grasp the unity of the Word are like the gardeners who buy an expensive tiller and rip up their soil - with glee - thinking they are doing something good.
