The Purpose of Plants

This appeared in the 2/6/20 edition of the The Fish Wrap

People often say ‘weeds’ in a disparaging manner, but all plants serve a purpose. Plants are always working to stabilize and improve the soils by harnessing the power of the sun.  Plants are the start of the food chain and all living beings receive energy and nutrients from plants. Your energy comes from either plants that you eat, or animals that have eaten plants.

When an environment is stripped to bare soil, plants get to work immediately trying to cover it.  Quick growing annuals pop up first, followed by perennials, grasses first then more woody plants and shrubs quickly followed by trees.  Over the years as these successions of plants do their work they also alter the ratio of bacteria to fungi in the soil. The vast network of mycelium is just one way plants communicate and interact with each other in ways that are yet mysteries to us.

Plants eat and breath and fight off diseases and predators just like we do. Like us, plants have both passive and active forms of immunity.  The soil is like the gut of the plant, where like the human gut, we are learning more and more about how important it is for a healthy life. A strong and diverse microbiome in the soil or the gut will increase overall health and increase the ability for strong immune responses.

A strong immune system makes plants look green and happy. Plants that get enough water, nutrients and sunlight develop greater immunity. And the more immunity a plant has, the more nutritious it is. The elements that give plants immunity to bugs and disease are what give us the most nutrition. And better taste! Nutrient density is the reason home grown tomatoes taste so much better than store bought. And they are better for you!