Owderb Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 1 hour ago, stalkydave said: I would use rock dust as a wee bump for micro nutrients I really dont think that will do anything at all. Rock dust is really for outside and can take years to add anything to the soil and only then if it was deficient in the first place. I cant see rock decomposing in a pot in just a few weeks In fact in quite a bit of stuff Ive read it said its mainly useless and thats outside Heres one bit I read "There is no doubt that adding rock dust adds the minerals, but I can also do that by laying a big bolder on top of the garden. The bolder will not help plants grow but it does add minerals to the garden. Unless the minerals in the rock decompose to release the nutrients in a form plants can use, there is little point in adding the rock dust. For this reason I think that one of the most important questions we need to ask is, how quickly does rock dust decompose? Some of my early reading on the matter indicated time frames of a hundred years. I have searched on many web sites selling rock dust and none have any claims or data to show decomposition happens even after 100 years or more. No one in the industry wants to put a number on this important property." "My recent visit to the Guelph Organic Conference allowed me to discuss rock dust with two suppliers. Neither one has been able to supply any details about decomposition. One never claimed to have such data, and the other only has it available in French only – but they did not provide it." Owd 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambium Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) @Owderb even in a pot, if you are growing living soil, then the microorganisms begin making p and k soluble immediately and iirc peaking at 30 days depending on grain size. Myc in particular will colonize relatively large grains tho. Microherd also benefit, are healthier and more capable. Edited September 5, 2020 by Cambium 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owderb Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 @Cambium This is one of the articles I read https://www.gardenmyths.com/rock-dust-remineralize-earth/ Owd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy13 Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 On 8/27/2019 at 0:16 PM, FarmerPalmersNT said: Dont normally willy wave as it's an internet Walter Mitty move but it seems de rigueur on this thread so.... I've participated personally in actual soil recovery studies for agriculture and soil recovery projects here and abroad, seed mixing and succession projects in recovered land (one example being samphire ho created from channel tunnel spoil), have a degree in a related ecological discipline as well as molecular biology. That includes phyto, fungal and bacterial remediation. Interestingly also microbial ore leaching. So I feel pretty well qualified. Most 'rock dust' trials are based on agricultural crops and subsequent impact on yield. The results are mixed, studies limited and many show a net zero impact. This could lead to the conclusion that rock dust is 'pointless'. However when applied to weathered, demineralised soils the impact changes and data is poor. None of that is relevant however to this sub forum which caters for those using compost and/or living soils/'no till'. If you have a full single use compost mix rock dust is less likely to be of benefit. If you have a living soil/no till setup and structural longevity is important then plainly it will be beneficial. Heavy organic mixes wont last for our purposes without a mineral skeleton substitute. Also the idea that microbial chelation or breakdown of rock dust into useful and available nutrients takes a long time is factually incorrect. I do agree that claims made by distributors are wildly overstated but that extends to just about every amendment out there so poking at it is a bit fish in a barrel. ..... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambium Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 3 hours ago, buddy13 said: Also the idea that microbial chelation or breakdown of rock dust into useful and available nutrients takes a long time is factually incorrect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452316X17303320 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgee Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 (edited) Even if it isn't all that helpful to plants I like the idea that widespread use in agriculture would massively help in carbon capture. I forget who posted the article originally maybe @Cambium? But there was an interesting article posted about it not long ago which sounded very promising to a layman like me I think this was it https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/08/spreading-rock-dust-on-fields-could-remove-vast-amounts-of-co2-from-air Edited September 5, 2020 by Dodgee +link 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cashmere Moments Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Another, related, paper from earlier this year at Sheffield: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15089 With a brief tldr/write-up here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/news/rock-dust-helps-soils-store-carbon-and-boosts-crop-yields-research-shows Quote Rock dust increases yields of cereal crops by up to 20 per cent and could reduce the need for fertilisers and agricultural lime. And another write-up for the study Dodgee's article mentioned. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/energy/news/applying-rock-dust-croplands-could-absorb-2-billion-tonnes-co2-atmosphere-research-shows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stalkydave Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 On 05/09/2020 at 3:26 PM, Owderb said: I really dont think that will do anything at all. Rock dust is really for outside and can take years to add anything to the soil and only then if it was deficient in the first place. I cant see rock decomposing in a pot in just a few weeks In fact in quite a bit of stuff Ive read it said its mainly useless and thats outside Heres one bit I read "There is no doubt that adding rock dust adds the minerals, but I can also do that by laying a big bolder on top of the garden. The bolder will not help plants grow but it does add minerals to the garden. Unless the minerals in the rock decompose to release the nutrients in a form plants can use, there is little point in adding the rock dust. For this reason I think that one of the most important questions we need to ask is, how quickly does rock dust decompose? Some of my early reading on the matter indicated time frames of a hundred years. I have searched on many web sites selling rock dust and none have any claims or data to show decomposition happens even after 100 years or more. No one in the industry wants to put a number on this important property." "My recent visit to the Guelph Organic Conference allowed me to discuss rock dust with two suppliers. Neither one has been able to supply any details about decomposition. One never claimed to have such data, and the other only has it available in French only – but they did not provide it." Owd Would disagree bro water ran black for the next 2 feeds and as much as sitting a brick on ur plant is as worthless as the grains that are too big to break down in 12 weeks the fine dust gets too work rapid. i added it to all mix and will never do it again, fucking toxic far too hot. Can see the benefits of the fine dust if u building your own soil... defo. just my experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackpoolbouncer Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 3 hours ago, stalkydave said: fucking toxic far too hot. Can you elaborate. Are you saying rock dust is toxic and far too hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stalkydave Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 no bro i added it to all mix and the girls just didnt like it, i post some pics later got some weird colouring and leaf edges browned. it is only my 2nd grow and the rockdust was the only thing i done different. Moved them from 2 litres into 6's and all new growth is sound. My apologies m8 i dnt know enough to b that blunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icki Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 I think Bluejay explains this well ime he is spot on.My plants love the last recipe. https://mountainorganics.net/p/soil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 6 hours ago, blackpoolbouncer said: Can you elaborate. Are you saying rock dust is toxic and far too hot? The trouble is, 'rock dust' is anything a seller wants to call it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icki Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 The trouble is what people buy and not whats for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 4 hours ago, icki said: The trouble is what people buy and not whats for sale. Yep. People need to be more specific in what they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stalkydave Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Done 4 clones in 250ml pots with light mix everything was cool, bumped them up to 2 litres with all mix and stuck a bit of rock dust in, if i had to put a number on it i would say it was about 50ml of the 2 litres, maybe more but it wasnt a lot. I ended up moving them into 6 litres sooner than i would have liked cos i could see this getn worse daily and wanted to get the roots away from that 2 litre mass in the middle, it wasnt doing it any favours. The feed hasnt changed 1ml of grow and 1ml calmag per litre and they thriving in the 6's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now