A Fungus Problem

Lately I have received quite a few emails from folks all having the same problem, a fungus on their (fill in the blank) plants with a few having a fungus on their trees (specifically Oak Tree).

So lets go over why plants have a fungus in the first place.

All bacteria have a purpose in life, and that is to take advantage of situations that provide them with the best opportunity to thrive. All bacteria need a host that is weak enough for them to invade and use the host sources as their own.

All Fungus require the host be deficient in trace minerals. Why?

In my past articles, I have explain how insects have evolved a system of being able to tell when a plant is low on minerals and therefore high on simple carbohydrates. All insects love simple carbohydrates as their main source of energy, but they cannot digest complex carbohydrates which is what plants are if their mineral levels are high enough.

As it turns out, the Higher the Brix, the higher the mineral level will also be and the high will be the complex carbohydrate levels, with the result of not being attractive to insects which are the second cause of disease spreading (humans are first!). 

Humans love giving plants high nitrogen. Why? Blame two things- marketing and humans need for instant gratification.

I sprayed a property the other day and the customer called me up the very next day saying she did not see any immediate results. So I told her that, first off, when you first start to take vitamin pills you would not get immediate results either and also that you will also need to get a good meal as vitamin pills were never meant to take the place of proper eating habits, and that is also true for the garden.

As with humans, The Higher the Stress, the Greater the  pest or disease problem will be. It is as simple as that.

High nitrogen will cause a lot of stress to the plants. It causes them to rapidly grow at the expense of uptake of minerals. It is a fact that  high nitrogen stops plants from absorbing trace minerals especially calcium and a wide variety of exotic trace minerals which plants need in very low levels (thus trace minerals).

Funguses love these type of plants and will expand rapidly, further weakened the plants.

Another aspect of having a weakened plant is that one must look at where the seeds come from and what genetic it has. Plants grown with chemicals (even GEO) are weak by their very nature, and they cannot survive without the use of pesticides, fungicides etc. to protect them.

So it is important to buy plants and seeds that have been organically grown over the years. These plants will not get the fungus, and will provide you, in turn, with the  minerals you need.

Do not believe it when folks tell you that there is no difference between how plants are grown and their nutritional value. That is marketing at its worst!, catering to the powerful companies desire for profits.

Bottom line is that if you have a plant or tree that  has a fungus, you have a stressed out plant and you need to find the stress, deal with it and then proceed. If you do not, you will not solve the problem. With vegetables, it is easy: buy organic. With trees, you need to pay attention to what you are feeding, or as in this case, what you are not feeding it.

Andy Lopez

Invisible Gardener

Any questions? Email me andy@invisiblegardener.com