How Does Your Garden Grow?

I needed a storage place for this vital information on nutrient deficiency symptoms in my garden. It has been extremely helpful to me, and I thought it would be helpful to others.

Nutrient	Function	Deficiency symptoms	Sources
Nitrogen (N)	Required for all phases of growth and development	Lower leaves light green or yellowish; stalk short & slender, plant is stunted.	Blood meal, composted poultry manure, feather meal, worm castings.
Phosphorus (P)	Strengthens stems, helps in resistance to pests and diseases, fruiting and flowering	Lower leaves and stem are reddish; upper leaves are dull, pale or dar green, plants stunted; failure to flower or produce fruit, premature dropping of fruit.	Bone meal & rock phosphate (slow release), colloidal (soft) rock phosphate, fish meal, fish hydrolysate - Other sources
Potassium (K)	Required for formation of all sugars, starches and proteins; contributes to cold-hardiness; root development.	Lower leaves spotted with dead tissue (usually at tips and between veins), mottled or curled; underdeveloped roots, stem tissue may appear weak	Composted manure, wood chips, greensand, seaweed (kelp), wood ashes (use with caution). Beware of excess K
Calcium (Ca)	Required for cell growth and division, helps plants use nitrogen	Tip burn on lettuce, blossom-end rot in pepper and tomatoes, development of thick woody stems. Young leaves of terminal bud hooded. Die back at tips and margins of leaf	Bone meal, gypsum, lime, ground oyster shells. Soluble Ca may be helpful during growth. More
Sulfur (S)	Constituent of protein and certain vitamin complexes.	New leaves are yellowish. Veins and tissue between veins are light green.	Composted manure, gypsum, Sul-Po-Mag.
Magnesium (Mg)	Constituent of chlorophyll; required for enzyme action.	Whitish patches appear first on older leaves, between leaf veins due to insufficient chlorophyll (chlorosis). Leaf tips & margins turned or cupped upward	Dolomitic limestone, Sul-Po-Mag, Epsom salts
Boron		Young leave of terminal bud are light green at the base, the bud eventually dies. Hollow stems	Boric acid
Iron (Fe)	Often caused by alkaline soil	Leaf veins green, rest of leave yellow (chlorotic), stalks short & slender, yellow leaves on upper parts of plants, poor growth of new shoots	Acidify soil if too alkaline, Greensand, manure
Copper (Cu)		Slow growth, died-back of shoot tips, spotty or marked chlorosis	Grass clippings, sawdust, wood shavings
Manganese (Mg)		Slow growth, sporodic maturing of plants, yellowing of areas between leaf veins, spots of dead tissue scattered over leaf	Add organic matter to correct pH
Selenium (Se)		deficiency rare	Manure
Zinc (Zn)		Leaves abnormally long and narrow, turning yellow or spotting; thick leaves; stalks with shortened internodes	Manure, rock phosphate

Adapted from Organic Gardening archives at http://www.organicgardening.com/
Pictures of nutrient deficiencies
Deficiencies in tomatoes http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/Garden/02949.html
Deficiencies in tomatoes http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=3&id=289   X   Y   Z
Color pictures of mineral deficiencies in plants  http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/min-def/list.htm
http://www.ehow.com/info_8203173_symptoms-nutrient-deficiency-bell-peppers.html
Guide to Nutrient Deficiencies in Your Vegetable Garden http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=57

Blossom end rot discussion http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pepper/msg061225038414.html 

Shenpa-Revised

Shenpa is a Tibetan word for hook. It is that rising, clenching feeling I get in my gut when something has risen to my consciousness, and my mind ruminates on that thing, until the situation jerks the hook and I'm caught. My mind rolls it over in my head, and generally my mind is screaming one of these negative phrases.  1) What the hell were/are they thinking, 2) That is just so unfair. This is a major, big hook for me. 3) There is no possible way that this could be true, yet it is.  My knee jerks up, and I'm off to the races. I generally throw a fit on Facebook, which actually gets support and further fuels my angst. HALT!!!

The only REAL thing that I can do that will improve any bad situation is to work on my own negative reactions and actions. To that end I will always deal fairly with everyone. I will recognize the moment of tightening just before the hook is set, and relax into the feeling, and watch it as it passes. 

My negative reactions do more to maintain the tension, than to ease it. My angst at these situations raises the world's negative energy level. What I can most successfully do to change this moment is to relax, let it pass naturally, and then raise my energy level to a more positive vibration. This practice will raise the energy level of the whole world.

If you think that your energy does not matter, as you are only one person, you're wrong. You may be one person, but you have a sphere of other people that you interface with who will be affected by your energy, which will also raise their vibration level. This is an exponential process. One person can do a lot; unfortunately, this goes in both directions. 

One must recognize the shenpa that threatens to dissolve your peace of mind. Relax, and steady ourselves in the moment, and raise your energy vibration when the shenpa passes.

Recognize the Illusion,

Namaste