Rock Dust.

[Owderb]

I personally think rock dust is a waste of time in pots. It hasn't the time to add anything to the medium. Its fine for outdoors in the garden because it has the time to break own but not in 3 months even though its a dust

 

Owd

Edited May 7, 2017 by Owderb

[cheesehunter]

3 minutes ago, Owderb said:

I personally think rock dust is a waste of time in pots. It hasn't the time to add anything to the medium. Its fine for outdoors because it has the time to break own but not in 3 months even though its a dust

 

Owd

 

How long do you think it would take for it to add any benefit?

 

The reason I ask is because I plan on making my own compost also and I was thinking of adding it to that.

[VikingDee]

Would you say it's worth it if your recycling the soil @Owderb?  I put it in because I thought the microbes liked it, I didn't think a lot would get into the plants without worms in there to break it down 

[Owderb]

If you were reusing then yes but when you think about it it is rock after all so to impart its benefit will take a lot longer than the time its in a pot seeing as its hardly soluble

 

I don't have the answer in how long but I would think 6 months to a year at least as a guess

 

Rock dust was made to use on allotments and in your gardens. Touting it for cannabis in my opinion is just another money making racket

 

Owd

[uBercaMeL]

I used it for years but recently stopped.. I think it does have a small effect (in pots, mums seem to stay shiny a bit longer), and it definitely increases water holding capacity (useful for bonsai mums) but not enough to justify actually sourcing, buying & mixing it (streamlining in my old age).. 

When I trim the roots of mums which had rockdust in their mix it's obvious their is still lots of unbroken-down rock dust (noisy sawing), and they are usually only root pruned once or twice a year so I'd say 6 months + before it does much at all (mineral wise).

e2a- worms definitely seem to like it though (been using the rest of what I had in my worm bin), might be more worthwhile in 'no-till'.

Edited May 7, 2017 by uBercaMeL

[cheesehunter]

The volcanic rock dust that I was going to buy has the following nutrients.

 

Macro Nutrients --- Sodium - Phosphorus - Potassium - Magnesium - Calcium -Sulphur - Silicon - Chlorine

Micro  Nutrients --- Manganese - Iron - Zinc - Copper - Molybdenum - Selenium - Chromium -Cobalt - Boron 

and it says  "40 other elements although not in elementary form" not sure what that means.

 

I am sure there is some other way of getting all those nutrients, going to look in to it now.

[Guest]

It's a natural mineral mate , and required by plants. 

 

Chloride is the most recent addition to the list of essential elements. Many people make the common mistake of confusing the plant nutrient chloride (Cl^-), with the toxic form chlorine (Cl). Chlorine is not the form that plants use. Chlorine exists either as a gas, or dissolved in water, such as bleach, and is not found in fertilizer. Although Chloride is classified as a micronutrient, plants may take-up as much Chloride as secondary elements such as Sulfur.

Function

Chloride is essential for many plant functions. Some of them are

• It is essential (working in tandem with K⁺) to the proper function of the plants stomatal openings, thus controlling internal water balance.
• It also functions in photosynthesis, specifically the water splitting system.
• It functions in cation balance and transport within the plant. 
• Research has demonstrated that Cl diminishes the effects of fungal infections in an, as yet undefined, way.
• It is speculated that Cl competes with nitrate uptake tending to promote the use of ammonium N. This may be a factor in its role in disease suppression, since high plant nitrates have been associated with disease severity.

[blackpoolbouncer]

Owd, don't forget many of us are using worms.........I get where your coming from but worms love rock dust and I'm no expert on the digestive capabilities of a composting worm but I'd bet they make a fair bit of it soluble once it's passed through them. 

If your just using as an ammendment to a potting mix I wouldn't bother and would agree.

Don't forget Owd.  Some no till chaps are many grows in with undisturbed soil......6 month or even a year down or more.......rock dust still breaking down releasing minerals all the time.

We use it BECAUSE it's slow to break down. 

What else is gonna give you all those micronutrients released slowly over say a year?

That's why I use it in my mix. Without worms I wouldn't bother probably and would look for something soluble.

 

 

Just to add. I use remin volcanic rock dust. As bob said. Chlorine is a nutrient whether most think it is or not. I guarantee rock dust won't hinder your fungi because of this

This is proven time and again in the real world. Hope this helps.

[Owderb]

I didn't forget mate hence me saying if you are reusing it then yes it will be beneficial

 

Owd

[MyDisplayName2000]

Its hard to work out which products are beneficial and which are just a scam to trickle a few more pounds from our pockets. Do we really need that penguin guano? Is the 'meteor dust' at £40 a gram the BEST bud enhancer ever found? Is whale semen THE best rooting gel with 120% success rate leading to 10 ounce buds? I jest but you can see what I am getting at.

 

As far as I can tell, rock dust is good for maybe long term mothers or with the 'no till soil' which is (I think) trying to recreate the natural soil environment for the plants. A living soil so to speak. In that case, rock dust is good as the soil is used for a long time and the dust would gradually give up its nutritional value.

 

Adding it to the final soil for the basic 13 weeks, in my eyes, seems to be a bit of a waste unless your re-using the soil.

 

The no till method intrigues me. I'll have to read up on a few grow diaries. Wish I had a bigger garden but its tiny and mostly paved.

[FarmerPalmersNT]

Never noticed this sticky. For no-till I think it also has an added benefit outside of nutrients - and that is soil structure. A lot of no till soils are based on a heavily organic content and over time can become a bit sour. A mineral skeleton that makes up all natural soils might not be essential for pots that you chuck out every three months, but in a permanent setup I think it is. Although you are not adding a lot, I'd guess over time the soluble elements are used and leave behind a bit of insoluble mineral support that helps drainage. I add a small amount of sand and vermiculite also and never water hard enough for anything to wash down and build up at the base of the pots. You can buy it really cheap on amazon, my bag has lasted forever and I've barely used a fraction of it. I wouldn't bother outside of no till though.

[Percygrower_420]

I bet some of the best cannabis is grown next to volcanos

[Cambium]

Just on the point on rock dust validity as an amendment for one cycle. As i understand it yes, rock dust is a slow burner and performs best over a prolonged period of time in soil, but vam's will start penetrating finer grains and excreeting enzymes to break down the mineral content as soon as they form a root association.

 

If your pot is alive, it'll make use of rockdust even through the first cycle.

[hash72]

worms love rock dust it makes them big and fat they do big poo's soil just loves it.

[Percygrower_420]

@hash72I’m going to get him to ask his gardening teacher “have you read teaming with microbes

Rock dust is great for soil reminarizeation (c&p)used some the other day, im on the remin stuff....heavy in minerals & weight