Primary Nutrients for Plants [PDC Preview]

This video is pulled from Geoff’s Online Permaculture Design Course. To learn more watch the free 4-Part Permaculture Masterclass Series: or join Geoff’s Online Permaculture Design course: Brief Overview The three main primary nutrients for plants are the familiar NPK: Nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. These can all be sourced naturally. Nitrogen comes from trees and plants that have bacterial colonies on their roots that fix nitrogen into the soil. With annuals, we simply wait for the plants to die, and the roots release the nitrogen into the soil, but with perennials, we have the potential of adjusting this cycle. The basics of adjusting this cycle are that nodules on the roots provide nitrogen in exchange for starch produced from photosynthesis. Then, using techniques like pollarding and coppicing, which cause a self-pruning of the root system, the plants naturally provide nitrogen in