Do plants only grow because they obtain nutrients in the soil?

Question: It is said that depleted soils are the reasons that our food is not as nutritious as it used to be. If we have plants, doesnt that mean they have grown because there is goodness in the soil thereby causing the plant to contain goodness. 2ndly when does the vitamins and minerals pass to the fruit. I have heard that it is in the last 24-48 hours of ripening.

Answers:
No nutrients in the soil means plants won't grow. I can't confirm there is a cornucopia of nutrients but for people who grow gardens a soil test kit will determine better than the naked eye or someones guesswork.
Soil test kits are less than $5 USD at Walmart.
Nutrients are passed on continuously. Even to dying leaves and broken stems. I always tell people to trim these as the nutrients going to them will start going to live areas.
It helps the plant flourish better.

Other Answers:
Not sure about the fruit question, but as for the plant question, I believe that soils can be more fortified to allow plants to absorb more of the nutrients that we need. Because of excessive land use in different parts of the world, soils do not have as much of the nutrients as in the past. Most plants are pretty resilient and do not require much to grow. People benefit from the surplus of nutrients that plants absorb as a result of nutrient-rich soil.

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