Ever try mountain water?

Since nutrients come from rock (sand, gravel), in water, over time; and since water falling (bubbling) over rock purifies itself within a few feet; has anyone ever tried to build any kind of a refreshing stream/pond at home?

Aphanazomenon flos aqua is a form of blue-green algae found in only two places in the world...Upper Klamath Lake, in Oregon; and Lake Chad, in Africa.

According to Darryl Coleman (sp?), who founded Cell Tech, backyard ponds to equal the area of the state of Colorado, planted with Aphanazomenon flos aqua (which can replenish itself in 20 minutes given the space and sunlight), could replenish all the world's oxygen.

...Besides supplying a superior, endless, food source.

This idea has fascinated me for years.

Glacial 'milk', as enjoyed by the Hunza people, is simply glacier ice slowly melting against rock.

The Chaga (Changa?) people built their homes around channeled streams of glacier water on the slopes of Mount Kilamanjaro. They planted food trees all around, and from above their homes are invisible beneath the canopy.

Volcanic ash is the finest form of rock for leaching minerals into water, for two reasons:

... The mixing of minerals from a wide area in a volcanic explosion, and,

... Every grain of volcanic ash is filled with bubbles, which allows a much greater surface area available for the leaching of minerals by water and microscopic organisms.

According to a fellow I met at our local Naturalists' Club, we have an ancient deposit of volcanic ash in our town. I'd love to get my hands on some for gardening.

A bonus is that volcanic ash is glass. The tiny shards are really hard on crawling critters - a natural pesticide. Sprinkle some volcanic ash around your plants for the finest fertilizer, with no slugs, etc.

And fill your backyard pond, too!

Also, if your pond has slowly moving water, toss in a jarful of Aphanazomenon flos aqua. And swim with the algae...it feels wonderful and is great for the skin. I'd like to build an outdoor, sun-warmed, stone bathtub in my slow-moving stream. Grin.

A couple of days after ingesting a little of the algae each day, you are likely to get an all-over glow of mental clarity and physical well-being. Mine lasted for 1/2 hour, but I've heard of 1 and 1/2 hours...besides all the other food benefits.

Aphanazomenon flos aqua winters well, too...all by itself.

fledgling


P.S. Darryl Coleman was a Montessori (sp?) teacher who sought out the algae as a food to help children.

f.