This newsletter explains why healthy soil is fundamental to healthy food and healthy people. It shows how modern processed food is full of sugar, fat and salt but often lacks the minerals that our bodies — especially our bones, organs and DNA — need. The article describes how soil enriched with minerals and living biology can help grow nutritious vegetables. It also introduces how WickiMix soil layers turn waste and compost into rich growing soil that supports plant growth, nutrients, and human health.
Health Starts in the Soil
Most discussions about diet and health focus on what we eat — carbohydrates, fats, sugars — but it all begins in the soil. If the soil that grows our food lacks important minerals, the vegetables and fruits won’t have them either. Over time, eating food grown in depleted soils can contribute to serious health problems — like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, even damage to DNA. This newsletter looks at the soil first: how to make it healthy so the food it produces nourishes us properly.
The Modern Food System and Its Problems
Walk through a supermarket and you’ll notice many people carrying excess body fat. Thirty years ago, before processed food became widespread, most people were leaner. This change didn’t happen because our genes changed — it happened because the food changed.
Today’s cheap, processed food is packed with sugar, fat and salt. These make the food taste good and trigger cravings, making us eat more than we need. The result is overeating, nutrient‑poor food, and health issues. Even if food tastes good, if it lacks essential minerals, our bodies still suffer.
Why Minerals and Trace Elements Matter
Plants need some basic minerals (like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) to grow. But humans need additional minerals — such as zinc, iron, selenium, iodine, chromium — often in greater quantities than plants do. These “trace elements” help build healthy bones, organs, blood, support our DNA, and protect us from disease.
Modern intensive farming tends to strip these minerals from soil over time. Chemical fertilisers may help plants grow, but they don’t necessarily replace all important minerals. That means even healthy-looking vegetables can be lacking in nutrients that are critical for human health.
The Missing Link: Soil Biology + Mineral Recycling
Good soil isn’t just mineral-rich: it’s alive. Soil contains bacteria, fungi, worms, roots and many other tiny organisms that break down minerals, organic waste and help make nutrients available to plants. Without this living community, many minerals stay locked in soil and never reach the plants — and thus, never reach us.
Plants themselves help feed soil biology. Their roots release sugars and other compounds into the soil, which feed microbes. Over time, soil becomes more fertile, better structured, and more capable of supplying minerals to plants steadily.
Roots — How Plants Get Water and Nutrients
Plant roots come in two main types: fibrous surface roots and deep tap‑roots. Fibrous roots spread out near the surface and need air to survive. Deep tap‑roots dive deep into the ground to access water and minerals. When both types grow together, they help build healthy, mineral‑rich soil and strong plants.
If soil is compacted or lacks oxygen, surface roots struggle. But if soil has good structure — filled with air pockets, water, and living biology — roots thrive. That’s when plants can uptake water, minerals, and grow well.
WickiMix — A Soil System to Bring Life Back to Soil
Because of all these needs — minerals, water, biology, structure — I developed a soil‑building method called WickiMix. It uses two layers to give the best chance for healthy plants:
- Top layer (WickiMix‑M): Soil mixed with minerals and additives to make it water‑loving (hydrophilic) and good for seed growth. This layer helps seeds germinate and ensures roots have access to water and nutrients.
- Lower layer (WickiMix‑R): Compost, root‑mass and waste‑derived material rich in living biology to break down minerals, recycle nutrients, and support a healthy soil ecosystem.
Example: A Simple Wicking‑Bed Setup
One easy way to use WickiMix is with a container or tote box. Here is a basic setup:
- Fill the bottom with organic waste or compostable material (food scraps or weeds).
- Cover with WickiMix‑R to provide biological soil layer.
- On top, add a seed tray or mesh tray and fill with WickiMix‑M, making sure the soil connects through the mesh so roots can reach the lower layer.
- Plant seeds or seedlings and water gently to allow wicking (water moving up from the base into the soil).
This setup works well even in small apartments or balcony gardens. It recycles organic waste, builds living soil, and gives you better nutrients from your plants.
Why WickiMix Helps City and Small‑Space Gardeners
Not everyone has a big backyard. Many people live in apartments or small houses, but they still want fresh, healthy food. WickiMix allows urban gardeners to grow nutritious vegetables in small containers, waste less water, recycle kitchen scraps and enjoy the benefits of living soil without needing farmland.
A Real‑World Example — Soil Rich in Selenium and Longevity
In a remote mountain valley in China, people often live into their 90s and even beyond 100. Medical researchers found their longevity may be linked to the high levels of selenium and other trace minerals in local soil and water. Such minerals are vital for DNA repair, immune function and overall health.
When younger generations moved to cities and ate processed food grown on depleted soils, many lost those health benefits. This story shows why having a mineral‑rich, biologically active soil can make a real difference over a lifetime.
WickiMix as a Strategy Against Poor Nutrition
WickiMix isn’t just about gardening — it’s a way to fight the nutritional deficiencies caused by modern food systems. By rebuilding soil and growing food with living soil, we can restore lost minerals and provide real nutrition for ourselves and our families.
How to Make WickiMix — A Simple Soil Recipe
Making WickiMix is possible even on an eco‑village, rural land, or urban backyard. The basic idea is to combine organic waste, compost, and mineral-rich soil, encourage living biology, and structure the soil so roots, water and air can interact. Over time, the soil becomes fertile, water‑retentive, and biologically active, producing healthy plants without chemical fertilisers.
Why This Matters — Soil, Food, and Health Are Connected
The soil that grows our food directly affects what ends up on our plates — and inside our bodies. Poor soil means poor nutrients. Living, mineral‑rich soil means better nutrition, stronger bodies, healthier digestion, and long-term wellbeing. By paying attention to how our food is grown — starting in the soil — we have a chance to change the way we eat for the better.
Call to Action
If you care about your health and the health of your community, start by caring for your soil. Even a small container garden can make a difference. Grow vegetables, recycle food waste, build living soil, share what you learn. Together, we can help make real food more common, not rare.
— Colin Austin
Colin Austin — 1 Nov 2015 © Creative Commons. You may copy this document if you cite the source. Private use is allowed; commercial use requires a license.
