Name: Rachel
Status: educator
Grade: 9-12
Location: CA
Country: USA

 Question: do you have a list of "weeds" that tend to be present and
act as reliable indicators of the abundant presence or deficiency of a
particular mineral? i have seen this as a chart for miners looking for
silver and gold in the sierras . . . this used to be called "what
weeds tell". also, do you have a reference for suitable cover crops to
grow/till in to augment such soil deficiencies, repair such
imbalances? (companion planting) thank you very much! we have an
abundance of plantain (plantago lanceolata) this year which i
attribute to late rains. some of have commented that the pollen is
excellent for the honeybees because it keeps mites out of the hives-
the bees as well as the monarch butterflies tend to like it. another
comment was that so much plantian suggested a magnesium deficiency.
when we did a soil and water test, it came back high in magnesium for
the soil and high in calcium for the water, with the combination being
a pH7. nearly ten years of cultivation may have altered the soil
profile- as well as grazing and invasive species any info would be
much appreciated!
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The following might be helpful:

http://www.garden-helper.com/Learn/Charts_And_Tables/indicator-weeds-soil-conditions.asp

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/weed-identification-control/soil-types-and-weeds.htm

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0106571125612.html

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html

http://www.kerrcenter.com/publications/covercrop.PDF

Sincerely,



Anthony R. Brach, PhD

Missouri Botanical Garden
DaTe:Summer 2010







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