permaculture

[nepal <nepal.roade@googlemail.com>]

Dieter, Thomas,

I am interested in this area too. My understanding is much simpler
than yours and I always try to see how nature does it without
interference and I try to base this entirely on my own repeated
observations (the old fashioned way of gaining wisdom). You will see
from below that my understanding is much simpler. ;)

In terms of feeding and health requirement, plants and humans have
similar needs and similar ways of working. We both live on the same
rock, we are both essentially made of the same rock, we both need to
keep making or extending ourselves from new rock through food.

The human digestive system is carried around on the inside of the host
organism. It is basically a broth of bacteria that specialise in
breaking down organic material and releasing nutrients (rock) which are
then taken up and used by the 'host'. 

The plant wears its digestive system on the outside i.e. the microbial
life in its immediate surrounding soil. It takes up the nutrients
provided by this soil life directly at the root tips or root hairs? not
sure. (of all the things I've read, what made the most sense and fits
best with my understanding of nature is the roots are actually more
like animal than plant and actively hunt out or 'grow towards' their
food which is then stolen from the bacteria by the root tip). Or could
I even say that the plant's root ball is an entire and complete history
of every feeding event of that plant.?

These are the basic systems that nature has provided and they work
entirely in the best interest of the host fitting in with natures'
design for that individual.

These systems can be hijacked, or bypassed by the unscrupulous. 

Human skin is an organ with one property of note, it is permeable. This
means that humans can be forced to take up chemicals if they are
applied to the skin in a form that allows absorption and so into the
interior of the body.

Plants can be force fed simply by osmosis, i.e. placing chemicals in
suspension or solution (my ignorance is I don't know which is used or
whether both can be used) and in contact with the root system, the 
differences in liquid density 'force-feed' the plant.

If nature put those barriers there, then it did so for its good reason,
and having never yet met a human that could even compare with nature's
intelligence, it is not something we should be messing with and
manipulating. (this last paragraph is just my propaganda!)

nepal.