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The Best Fertilizer of All

By Peter H. Weis

My grandmother was all green thumbs, so much so that people said of her, "give her an old walking stick, and she'll make it bloom again". And her 'secret'? It was in her kitchen sink. Dirty dishwater. Yup, it's as simple as that. And it's absolutely true. Dirty dishwater is the very best fertilizer of all; there is none better; period.

After all, dirty dishwater contains what comes off our dinner plates, pots, pans and coffee cups - and all these residues of our food come either directly - via all produce - or indirectly, via plant-fed animals - from once living plants. Consequently, these residues of our food contain everything a plant once was - and consequently, everything a plant needs. Absolutely everything; the whole works. It is simply the best, and actually, the perfect fertilizer. And best of all, it's free!

In any commercial fertilizer you get 3 elements (N-P-K), and perhaps a couple more in the more expensive ones. From dirty dishwater you get all the 92 elements of the Earth, along with lots of amino acids and complex proteins, and best of all, in exactly the right form, amounts and combinations - as assembled by the once living and healthy plants those food residues originated from.

Use it indoors, on all your potted plants - and outdoors, on all your gardens, planters and hanging baskets. And the '"double duty" of the dirty dishwater - first for cleaning the dishes, and then as garden water/fertilizer - is not only very, very nice indeed, but ecologically sound and in the best and highest spirit of conservation. Keep this in mind in the summer, particularly when there are water shortages, and things are growing lustily.

And do not worry about any phosphates in your dish detergent. Phosphates got a lot of bad press, but only because our dirty dishwater usually goes to the wrong places - into lakes, rivers and the sea. And they do cause havoc there. But phosphates are absolutely fabulous in the soil. Here are the reasons why.

Phosphorous is used by all living cells for energy storage - for the storage of their Life-energy. Every living cell on this Earth - from bacteria to our selves - uses phosphorus to make adenosine triphosphate - a molecule bearing 3 phosphorus atoms. And whenever the Life-energy of a cell drops below a certain threshold (in a superbly elegant process), the triphosphate in adenosine is reduced to diphosphate - the same molecule bearing only 2 phosphate atoms - making the released energy of this process available for the cell's business of living.

In the water, and because of its function in storing Life-energy, too much phosphorus is a disaster; it causes tremendous algae growth, and when these short-lived creatures decay, this robs the water of free oxygen, effectively asphyxiating all oxygen breathing life in the vicinity.

But it's a totally different story on land. Because our atmosphere contains 21% free oxygen, there is never any oxygen shortage on land. And just as in water, phosphates in the soil also cause tremendous growth - but without any detrimental effects whatsoever - because of the abundance of free oxygen in our atmosphere.

So, go ahead and use your dirty dishwater not only in good conscience, but in full knowledge that you are using it as nature intended, and that you are working hand-in-hand with the majestic dynamics of the eternal cycle of Life.

And as if a free, organic, natural, and absolutely perfect fertilizer were not enough, soapy water also acts as a deterrent to many garden pests.

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Born in Berlin, Germany in 1934, Peter came to Canada in 1954, the year the Berlin Wall first went up. Although an average and very unremarkable man leading an average and unremarkable life, he's come to some very remarkable discoveries, including the most wonderful and healthiest way of gardening - and the nature and workings of our universe. And they all came from gardening, he says, since it is driven by Life in its simplest form. Since Life is driven by the fundamental laws and forces of our universe, it is quite easy to see the laws and forces of our universe at work in gardening, and exquisitely so in the greenhouse. In this serene life-filled space, Life has been detached from the overwhelming presence of all of Nature, and transported into flats in the greenhouse, for the clearest, simplest and untrammeled view of the forces of Life at work in the trays, flats and pots. One only needs to ask deeply enough, he says, and Life will answer. Visit Peter’s website at: http://www.salescene.com/5garintr.html

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