Episode 181: Plant Immunity Through Custom Foliars and Targeted Nutrition with Peter Henry

Peter Henry is a first-generation farmer who manages a diverse, seven-hectare operation in the mountainous terrain of Puerto Rico alongside a dedicated four-person workforce. He transitioned to agriculture during the pandemic after a successful career as a tech executive and startup vice president, initially purchasing the abandoned land with the intent of establishing a shade-grown specialty coffee farm. After encountering significant challenges with his initial coffee crops, Peter successfully shifted his operation toward passion fruit and a highly specialized niche market growing traditional African heirloom vegetables and tubers for buyers in the United States and Canada.  

Peter focuses heavily on biological soil health and precise nutritional balance instead of conventional chemical applications. He works closely with Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) to run on-farm trials and design sophisticated nutritional programs using AEA's data-driven inputs. By utilizing rigorous soil testing to address extreme iron and manganese imbalances, Peter designs custom foliar stacks delivered through a specialized micro-sprinkler system to proactively build plant immunity and suppress heavy tropical disease pressure.  

In this episode, John and Peter discuss:

• How Peter manages a complex landscape by separating the farm into distinct irrigation sectors to address vastly different soil mineral profiles on opposite sides of a river .

• Utilizing an aggressive pre-planting soil amendment strategy that combines lime and custom humic-complexed fertilizers based on comprehensive soil tests .

• How the operation completely avoids synthetic nitrogen applications because excess nitrogen immediately triggers insect pressure and fungal blights across his pepper and okra crops .

• Peter designing an innovative micro-sprinkler trellis system to broadcast humics and biology over multiple hectares in just over an hour .

• Mixing AEA's Humacarb, HoloPhos, and Spectrum directly into the irrigation system to actively inoculate both the soil and plant foliage with beneficial microbes .

• How running an on-farm trial of AEA's Pinion product for six weeks successfully eliminated severe bacterial leaf spot and stem issues on highly susceptible heirloom bell pepper crops .

• Integrating AEA's Rebound Copper alongside Rebound Molybdenum to completely reverse visual deficiencies and provide a dramatic greening effect on the farm's terraced pepper fields .

• Utilizing AEA's SeaShield and MacroPak to safely deliver trace organic nitrogen and essential amino acids without overriding the plants' reproductive cycles . 

Additional Resources

To follow Peter's farm on Instagram, please visit: https://www.instagram.com/imfarmerpete/ or imfarmerpete on the app.

To learn more about AEA's products, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com

To learn more about AEA's Pinion, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/product/pinion/

About John Kempf

John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.

Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.

Support For This Show & Helping You Grow

Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.

AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.

AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.

Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.

Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com