Sorry I missed this reply from almost a couple of years ago! Since I wrote that post, I have focused almost completely on genetics because I’ve realized it’s a giant missing factor in regen ag, and almost nobody is talking about it in an empowered way. People say things (in books, podcasts etc) about how it matters as far as disease resistance and nutrient density is concerned, but then that’s the end of the conversation. Although my initial research talked about in the first post revealed zero relationship between soil health and crop mineral levels, since then I believe there is a correlation, but the effects aren’t as large as the genetics of the plant. For example, good soil health and farming practices may improve nutrient levels 0-25%, but shifting genetics can improve it by 200X (200,000%). So anyone focusing on soil health who also cares about nutrition absolutely needs to pay attention to genetics.

And since modern breeding practices are at fault here (breeding for yield etc under fertilized conditions), and I didn’t want to become breeder in order to help people get access to the nutrient dense genetics, I’ve focused on growing landraces. Power to the people, and not the seed companies 🙂 Low input farming and gardening that focuses on adapting the genetics to the environment, not changing the environment to support a genetically weak crop. A lot has happened in a couple of years!