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Rock Dust - the origin of soil |
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by |
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Barrie Oldfield |
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| Over the past million years the Earth has gone through several periods of freezing temperatures
known as ‘Ice Ages’ when great glaciers covered the planet from the poles half way to the tropics. These glaciers,
up to 3 km thick, would grind away at the surface bed rock of the planet making rock dust, the foundation for good
agricultural soil. Unfortunately for Australia our land was too close to the tropics to get covered with ice. In
fact Australia has never had an ice age for at least 250 million years. As a result of weathering and washing away
by rain our soils are very poor. They lack all trace elements and are really short of plant nutrients. That is
why we have to add so much fertiliser. Men of The Trees realised that if we were going to get our tree seedlings growing well in the very harsh conditions of our wheatbelt we were going to have to give them the very best start in life possible. That's why in 1989 we began trials to see if adding rock dust to the soils we used for propagating trees would help. It did! Our seedlings grew with an astounding vigour, they looked sturdy, they had a wholesome bloom on leaf and stem. And when we planted them out they continued to grow well. Since 1991 all Men of The Trees seedlings have included 5% rock dust in the potting mix. Rock dust is a by-product of the quarrying industry. It is a perfectly natural material. Organic gardeners make good use of it, often adding it to their compost. It makes an excellent addition to worm farms because earthworms have no teeth. They need a grit in order to digest their food. And the fresh grains of the rock dust are ideal. Worms therefore blend the rock dust into the kitchen scraps you give them thus creating what must surely be the ideal new soil for your garden; rock dust enriched worm castings! Rock dust is also paramagnetic. That means it is very slightly attracted to a magnet. Many people believe that all soils need a certain amount of paramagnetic rock in them to assist the growth of plants. Rock dust is very stable. It dissolves very slowly and therefore remains active in your garden soil for many years. It does not dissolve away and cause blue-green algae problems in our lakes and rivers. It is not a fertiliser in the usual sense. It contains no nitrogen at all, very little phosphorus, and only a modest amount of potassium in an almost insoluble form. So always use rock dust in conjunction with compost or when you are spreading garden mulch. About a cupful to every square metre is enough to get started. Use it sparingly and remember that twice as much does not mean twice as good. Rock dust makes a very good treatment for non-wetting soils. Cast it lightly over the area then rake it in. Water will not only infiltrate quicker but the soil will retain its moisture better, all of which is good for our waterwise gardens. Another factor concerning rock dust is what may be called its ‘resonance factor’. A major component of granite dust is Silica, the very same crystalline substance which is the ‘quartz’ in your watch. In just the same way that Silica can regulate your watch to keep a very high degree of accuracy, in the soil it may well be regulating the natural pulse of the life field of the germinating seed and growing plant. The Natural Resonance Study Group is a spin off from Men of The Trees and meets regularly to discuss this and associated phenomena, carrying out field and garden trials to test the theories. More information about Rock Dust may be found at http://www.Remineralize.org |
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| Rock Dust can be purchased from St Barbe Grove Nursery - HAZELMERE 9250-1888 | |||||
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Copyright to www.mulchnet.com |
