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Rock Dust

ColdSmoke

ColdSmoke

So the topic of rock dust as a fertilizer/amendment seems to be almost non-existent on these boards. This is my first year using it and am excited to see how it performs. From what I've read, rock dust is a no-brainer and should be part of your soil mix. I went with the glacial rock dust. "Glacial Rock Dust is an excellent source of readily available calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium plus trace elements and micronutrients. It also increases phosphorus availability to plants. Will not "burn" plants or seedlings" 
 
Anyone have anything to add regarding rock dust; I'm pretty new to the stuff. 
 
The nutrient aspect is great, but add too much and it's clay. I don't know how fine ground it is but if you start with a soil that has a high clay content, I would stay away from it or use very little.
 
My 2¢
 
All I know is John Kohler is a big advocate of rock dust. He brings it up in almost all his Youtube vids. If you do a keyword search on his Youtube channel you'll get a page of videos related to it.
 
That is an interesting thought, would be beneficial if it eliminates the need for fertilizer but you would definitely need to over compensate with some perlite I would think. Let us know how it goes
 
My experience and opinion is this:  If you're not going to do a full organic grow, don't waste your time.  Just pour salts through the pot, give the plant what it needs, and let it run its course.  If you want to build a healthy soil web, then rock dust helps complete the symphony of particle sizes. (yes, it is often derived from clay, and/or is the net equivalent)  Rock dusts seem to be most effective when used in the top few inches of the soil strata.  It's useful for helping hold nutrients, more than anything, from what I see.  It must be very fine, almost powdered.  And it works REALLY well when combined with a complete organic fertilizer. (I like to mix with greensand and blood meal, but still use a fully built fertilizer)
 
My rock dust containers outperform the non-dusted containers, but I'm not suggesting that its necessarily due to direct uptake of something that is available directly from the dust, itself.  And I'm not saying that it isn't, either.  But for sure, it really makes a noticeable difference in the texture of the mix. (much like true soil strata)  However, I would suggest that it's a long term strategy, for those with a longer growing season.  Otherwise, for single season grows,  I'd amend compost with it that was destined for the worm bin, and use the resulting vermicompost, in its stead.  I would guess that if there's anything to be made bioavailable in any foreseeable period of time in the dust, the worms would be the most efficient means.
 
solid7 said:
My experience and opinion is this:  If you're not going to do a full organic grow, don't waste your time.  Just pour salts through the pot, give the plant what it needs, and let it run its course.  If you want to build a healthy soil web, then rock dust helps complete the symphony of particle sizes. (yes, it is often derived from clay, and/or is the net equivalent)  Rock dusts seem to be most effective when used in the top few inches of the soil strata.  It's useful for helping hold nutrients, more than anything, from what I see.  It must be very fine, almost powdered.  And it works REALLY well when combined with a complete organic fertilizer. (I like to mix with greensand and blood meal, but still use a fully built fertilizer)
 
My rock dust containers outperform the non-dusted containers, but I'm not suggesting that its necessarily due to direct uptake of something that is available directly from the dust, itself.  And I'm not saying that it isn't, either.  But for sure, it really makes a noticeable difference in the texture of the mix. (much like true soil strata)  However, I would suggest that it's a long term strategy, for those with a longer growing season.  Otherwise, for single season grows,  I'd amend compost with it that was destined for the worm bin, and use the resulting vermicompost, in its stead.  I would guess that if there's anything to be made bioavailable in any foreseeable period of time in the dust, the worms would be the most efficient means.
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I second this. All of it.
 
ColdSmoke said:
So the topic of rock dust as a fertilizer/amendment seems to be almost non-existent on these boards. This is my first year using it and am excited to see how it performs. From what I've read, rock dust is a no-brainer and should be part of your soil mix. I went with the glacial rock dust. "Glacial Rock Dust is an excellent source of readily available calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium plus trace elements and micronutrients. It also increases phosphorus availability to plants. [/size]Will not "burn" plants or seedlings" 
 
Anyone have anything to add regarding rock dust; I'm pretty new to the stuff. 
Click to expand...

Magic dust " a pinch for the raindeer, a pinch for Santa Claus"


Sorry I'm drunk :cheers:
 
I heard somewhere that azomite/rock dust was radioactive? Is that true, and if it is, Is that even a bad thing? Since we're exposed to radiation everywhere from the sun to microwaves anyway
 
Or have I been living in brooklyn too long and getting paranoid thoughts with all these hipsters around me. (organic this and natural that alll the time!)
 
cathee said:
I heard somewhere that azomite/rock dust was radioactive? Is that true, and if it is, Is that even a bad thing? Since we're exposed to radiation everywhere from the sun to microwaves anyway
 
Or have I been living in brooklyn too long and getting paranoid thoughts with all these hipsters around me. (organic this and natural that alll the time!)
Click to expand...
 
Well, it's a mined product, so it's certainly possible.  But I don't have any scabs or lesions, and I keep a pretty large bag of it in near the house.
 
Oh yeah, and NY'ers are definitely paranoid.  You need to get out of that city once in awhile!  You're trapped in a vacuum! :D
 
cathee said:
I heard somewhere that azomite/rock dust was radioactive? Is that true, and if it is, Is that even a bad thing? Since we're exposed to radiation everywhere from the sun to microwaves anyway
 
Or have I been living in brooklyn too long and getting paranoid thoughts with all these hipsters around me. (organic this and natural that alll the time!)
Click to expand...
Radiation is natural.
 
ColdSmoke said:
So the topic of rock dust as a fertilizer/amendment seems to be almost non-existent on these boards. This is my first year using it and am excited to see how it performs. From what I've read, rock dust is a no-brainer and should be part of your soil mix. I went with the glacial rock dust. "Glacial Rock Dust is an excellent source of readily available calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium plus trace elements and micronutrients. It also increases phosphorus availability to plants. Will not "burn" plants or seedlings" 
 
Anyone have anything to add regarding rock dust; I'm pretty new to the stuff. 
Click to expand...
 
I use azomite dust, been using it for years. Can't say if it has helped me out or not, but for $44 for a huge bag that will literally last me a lifetime, it was easy enough to argue myself into it. I also do feel that my plants like my recycled soil with it.
 
 
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I have seen some tests done of the soil and nutrient content of produce grown with and without rockdust, and I am not convinced it is worth the investment imo. 
 
mrgrowguy said:
 
I use azomite dust, been using it for years. Can't say if it has helped me out or not, but for $44 for a huge bag that will literally last me a lifetime, it was easy enough to argue myself into it. I also do feel that my plants like my recycled soil with it.
 
 
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I bought 50 lbs of lava/basalt dust to go with my huge bag of azomite...  I always figured that rich volcanic soil was super fertile, for a reason.  So, with a combination of the 2, I have had some pretty fantastic results.  Sure, it's not a purely scientific basis, but I did do some side-by-side experiments, on a small scale. (therefore, I lack sampling size and repeatability)  But this year has so far been my best growing since I switched to containers.
 
Vicious Vex said:
I have seen some tests done of the soil and nutrient content of produce grown with and without rockdust, and I am not convinced it is worth the investment imo. 
Click to expand...
 
High Brix growing is another argument, and the claims of higher nutrient content of food grown with that method, are easily disputable.  The value of soil mineralization isn't just about nutrient content, but also the function of the soil, itself.  Again, my opinion is that this isn't really a worthwhile discussion for anyone using synthetic fertilizers, but that's JUST my opinion.  The appeal for me was more about the overall health of my plants.  And I do believe that dusts aid in improving the health of the plant, while reducing the amount of effort required to maintain said health.  I do not believe that rock dusts are fertilizers.
 
solid7 said:
 
High Brix growing is another argument, and the claims of higher nutrient content of food grown with that method, are easily disputable.  The value of soil mineralization isn't just about nutrient content, but also the function of the soil, itself.  Again, my opinion is that this isn't really a worthwhile discussion for anyone using synthetic fertilizers, but that's JUST my opinion.  The appeal for me was more about the overall health of my plants.  And I do believe that dusts aid in improving the health of the plant, while reducing the amount of effort required to maintain said health.  I do not believe that rock dusts are fertilizers.
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I can see the use for it in that sense, and I don't use synthetic ferts, compost ftw. 
 
Vicious Vex said:
 
I can see the use for it in that sense, and I don't use synthetic ferts, compost ftw. 
Click to expand...
 
Compost is good.  Do you make your own?  Have you ever considered adding it to the compostable ingredients?
 
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