Is homeopathy the key to keeping your plants healthy?

Anyone can keep their plants and garden in tip-top health with homeopathy, says homeopath Camilla Sherr.

Homeopathy can bring amazing results not just for humans and animals but for plants too. When my mother’s ornamental apple tree became infested with ermine moth, my husband, Jeremy, a homeopath like me, prescribed the remedy Lac Caninum (Lac-C) for the tree, based on its symptoms. Caterpillars had appeared in clumps and secreted a sticky white weblike substance over the tree’s branches.

Four days after my mother tried the remedy, there was not one caterpillar left on the tree. When the apples next came into season, for the first time, they were sweet and juicy. It turns out it wasn’t an ornamental apple tree after all; it had just been underperforming.

Agrihomeopathy, or agrohomeopathy as some call it, is the use of homeopathy to treat soil and plants. It’s a nontoxic way to overcome pests, disease and environmental stresses like drought, frost and heat, and it promotes healthy soil, seedling growth, flowering and fruiting.

An intriguing Brazilian study shows the efficacy of the homeopathic principle of “like cures like” on poisoned seeds. In Brazil, there’s a problem with high levels of aluminum in the soil, which is known to impair a plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients. The study’s goal was to see how homeopathic preparations (Alumina and Calcarea Carbonica) affected seeds that were exposed to toxic levels of aluminum.

All of the test samples containing homeopathic preparations outperformed the control group, but seeds treated with the homeopathic potency of Alumina stood out most. Compared to the control sample, they showed about 20 times the root growth.1

Given in highly diluted potencies, a substance can overcome its own potential toxic effect.

A common way to reduce soil toxicity is to apply large amounts of fertilizer, which is costly and problematic for large areas of land. This study shows that agrihomeopathy offers inexpensive and simple ways to solve complex environmental problems.

Soil: the foundation of plant health

Like humans, plants need a balanced diet that’s rich in vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, and much of that comes from the soil. Balanced soil greatly improves a plant’s immunity to diseases.

When I started working with a Tanzanian farmer some 10 years ago to help him convert a coffee farm from chemical to organic agricultural methods, the first thing I had him do was a soil test. This allowed me to identify any nutrient deficiencies and prescribe the right homeopathic remedies. One month later, another soil test showed we’d achieved perfectly balanced soil.

Soil tests are important as they are inexpensive and take away a lot of the guesswork. Soils can have deficiencies that are specific to regions. For example, boron is notoriously scarce in Kilimanjaro, where I live.

Farmers in this region are currently in dire straits because they can no longer afford commercial fertilizers. Prices have quadrupled in recent years, so agrihomeopathy is a welcome solution. And unlike commercial fertilizers, it doesn’t create more problems due to chemical runoff into waterways.

Ultimately, healthy soil means healthy food and healthy people. The foundation of our health is our food, yet we have depleted soils. Agrihomeopathy is an inexpensive way to strengthen our plants so they can pass on to us the full spectrum of nutrients for ongoing good health. 

In fact, Dr Harold Foster, a medical geographer at the University of Victoria in Canada, found that AIDS was epidemic in most sub-Saharan African nations, except Senegal. In his book What Really Causes Aids (Trafford, 2002; free ebook at alternativehealth.co.nz), Foster noted Senegalese soil had the highest levels of selenium in Africa. He concluded that the lack of selenium in other countries’ food-producing soils helped AIDS spread on the continent. Selenium is essential for immune function and response.

I believe agrihomeopathy is a simple way for everyone in the world to have access to nutritious food.

Camilla’s guide to using homeopathy for plants

Applying remedies to plants or soil is generally easy, but there are a few things to consider:

The rule of thumb Add two drops (or globuli) to 1 L of water—rainwater preferably. Tap water is fine, but no sterilized water.

Do not use a watering can Once you use a container for a remedy, it is very hard to clean the remedy out of it. If possible, keep a spray bottle or water bottle exclusively for that remedy. If this isn’t possible, the container needs to be thoroughly washed in hot water and then allowed to fully dry between remedies.

Always wear rubber or latex gloves Protect your skin when handling remedies, or you could end up getting a dose as well as the plant.

With homeopathy, less is more One to two sprays on a plant surface are sufficient.

Be aware of the wind Spray downwind to use it to your advantage for large areas and let it carry to plants downwind.

It doesn’t matter what part of the plant receives the dose In general, water the roots. For aphids on roses or other insects, spray the leaves and flowers, but it wouldn’t hurt to water the remedy into the roots as well.

Plants don’t like alcohol Don’t apply alcohol-based remedies straight onto a plant.

Homeopathic remedies work alongside pharmaceutical medications It’s not a case of one or the other.

When it comes to potencies, use what you have on hand Agrihomeopathy is an emerging field, so trial and error are part of the journey. Keep notes to remember what you’ve learned along the way.

Think like a gardener

Even if you’re not a farmer, agrihomeopathy can be beneficial on a personal level in your own home. And the best thing is you can get started with limited knowledge, and still have success. Think like a gardener, and you’ll be on the right track. 

You can use the plant “buddy” system, like companion planting, to great effect. Ocimum basilicum (basil), in its homeopathic form, acts as a constitutional remedy to tomatoes. It strengthens the plant, and some claim it also makes the tomatoes taste sweeter.

On the flip side, if you have an aphid infestation on your roses, spray the homeopathic remedy Coccinella—it’s made from the aphid’s natural enemy, the ladybird (or ladybug in the US). It’s a simple bio-pest control method without the need to find live ladybirds.

This is also a solution for commercial gardeners. Instead of purchasing expensive supplies of ladybirds from a bio-pest company—and possibly causing other issues by upsetting the harmony of the environment—growers can spray the aphids with Coccinella.

The beauty of homeopathy is that there’s no need for a diagnosis. Instead, homeopathy works with the symptoms. Plant diagnosis is difficult as many bacterial, fungal, viral or mineral deficiency issues can appear similar, which is true for humans as well.

Because plants can’t communicate with us verbally or expressively in a way we can understand (animals are easier to assess because you can get a sense of their personality), you need to become a master observer. Examine the plant and translate what you see into symptoms. Then choose a remedy that covers the overall picture of the plant. See my guide on page 37 for a few key points to consider and the table below for a list of common plant problems and their homeopathic solutions.

I encourage everyone to learn more about agrihomeopathy and try it out in their gardens or on potted plants. You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve with even just a little bit of knowledge.

Your plant first aid kit

Here are some common plant problems and the homeopathic remedy I would use to counter them. Unless otherwise specified, use low potencies (6c–12c) to treat the soil and higher potencies (30c, 200c) to treat an acute case, such as an insect infestation.

Top tips for growing healthy plants

Water your garden with Calendula 30c at the beginning of spring. It will heal any damage that has occurred over the winter and protect your plants from fungal, viral and
bacterial infections.

Give Silica 30c to your seedlings. They will grow into healthy, strong plants.

For root stimulation, soak seeds in Arnica, Phosphorus or Silica.

Find out more

• If you would like to learn more, you can purchase Camilla’s webinar series Homoeopathy for Plants and Garden. The first session is free so you can test out whether agrihomeopathy is for you.

Visit the following page to register for the webinar:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agri-homoeopathy-with-camilla-sherr-tickets-620142933207

• To purchase one of Camilla’s Agrihomeopathy Kits, visit rootsandwingshomeopathy.ie. These kits are designed to take the guesswork out of agrihomeopathy. They use a blend of remedies to support soil health, encourage plant growth and provide protection through extreme weather.