26/02/2026
Trying to spread manure but the wind has other ideas!
I (Dili) will be hosting a WOTL Crop Walk on June 26th with our fav local Agronomist Jeff Braun, and I thought it might be interesting to deep dive into the macros and micros of crop growth and nutrition.
Let’s talk Potassium!
Potassium (K) is well-known to be essential for flowering and fruiting, but have you ever wondered why? Potassium stays in the plant's sap and acts like "electricity." It is a positively charged electrolyte that controls osmotic balance in both plant and human cells.
In plants—especially during reproduction—the role of potassium is to help transport sugars to the developing flowers and fruits. Without enough K pushing them through, sugars stay stuck in the leaves, leaving the fruits small and sour. Because potassium is a positively charged ion, it also acts as a "pump"—as it moves into cells, it draws water with it to create the pressure needed for growth. Most interestingly (to anyone at our school busy bee this week), it controls the stomata (the breathing "pores"). On a hot day, a plant with good potassium levels can shut its pores to save water, whereas a potassium-deficient plant "wilts" because it can't close those pores effectively.
In humans, it functions almost identically! It is our electrical stabilizer, and our blood levels are usually tightly regulated (between 3.5 and 4.5 mmol/L). If you are on diuretics or "fluid tablets" this is something to watch! When potassium is low, your body lacks the critical electrolyte responsible for signaling muscles—including those in your heart and blood vessels. So (as a completely random example) on a hot day, your body moves blood to the skin to cool you down. In a potassium-deficient person, the blood vessels can be slow to "squeeze" back down - resulting in your blood pressure bottoming out & leading to fainting or weakness.
Where do we find K? It’s in all plants, especially fruits (like bananas and citrus) and vegetables (like potatoes) and whole grains.
Plants absorb potassium from the soil, where it breaks down naturally from clay and rocks. It generally recycles well—unless you are physically removing all the "biomass" from the paddock (like baling straw and hay). In those cases, the "cycle" is broken, and inputs like chicken manure are excellent for bringing those levels back up.
Let me know what other random things you might be interested in knowing more about!
