Soil building for nutrient density
 

Over the past year or so I have been reading about building soils to provide more nutrient dense and flavorful produce. I find the subject fascinating. Most of the research seems to point to increasing levels of calcium and using rock dust to "remineralize" depleted soils. It seem logical that one of the smartest things we can do as gardeners/farmers is to provide the most healthful produce for ourselves, our families and our customers. Is anyone currently following this strategy? What are you using? Have you noticed any difference in quantity of worms, growth of plants and taste of produce?

I like greensand for potassium and micronutrients. Gypsum is a widely used soil amendment for the clay by farmers in my area. Rock phosphate has been used for a long time by organic gardeners as a phosphorous source.

The articles and studies I have been reading mainly focus on rock dust that is extremely finely ground. Almost like the consistency of talcum powder. It is to greatly increase the microbial life in the soil. I picked up 350lbs last year from a local quarry for free. I tried a controlled experiment last year with 2 Bloody butcher plants in 5 gallon pots but started too late and lost the tomatoes to frost. So I never got to see if there was any difference in the taste of the fruits. I did not detect any difference in the growth of the plants. I'm going to try again this year and hope to be able to report the results.

Composter, I too am interested in this subject, but find the information elusive. I saw an episode of B Organic (a little tv show about organic ideas and creative practices) and the host interviewed a seed grower who used the rock dust. I found it fascinating, but have not been able to find the source of the rock dust or much about it. I am only calling it rock dust now, because of it being reffered to it in this thread. He had a specific name for it and talked about it containing all the minerals that fertilizer lacked. He also used some super fine for immediate nutrients and some ground course that would decompose slowly over the season. Unfortunately for me, it was deleted from the tv storage bank :( Boo hoo, but I have been looking into it ever since. This should be a real interesting thread!

Lindsey

i used azomite last season. unfortunately i have nothing to compare last season to as it was a brand new garden bed filled with mels mix which is peat, compost and vermiculite in equal parts

i only have a small amount of azomite left and i didnt use it on the bed this year. i also have mostly new varieties hoping to find some plants a little more resistant to what i believe is bacterial speck.

by the way my plants grew huge.

Lindsey, there is on online book by John D. Hamaker that may interest you. Also a book by his partner Don Weaver called To Love and remineralize the earth. These gentlemen thought the subject was so important that they made these books available for free in the public domain. Lots of videos of Don Weaver on You Tube. Also check out remineralize.org on the internet.

Glenn

Glenn

I'm adding azomite, greensand, and rock phosphate this season.

COMPOSTER & linzelu100,
If you are interested in nutrient density, here is a link to a website that I regularly visit. They have a lot of good information for building healthy soils and strong plants that can increase yields and nutrient density. They've helped me to understand that nitrogen isn't the most important factor in growing more prolific vegetables. This site is also linked to High Brix Gardens which is a very informative and useful site.
[URL="http://www.aglabs.com/"]http://www.aglabs.com/[/URL]
[URL="http://www.highbrixgardens.com/"]http://www.highbrixgardens.com/[/URL]
dpurdy

I did an experiment with my 8 Dragon fruit plant. All of them never really flower. I added Azomite to 4 of them. The 4 that had it grew a lot of fruit while the others grew a handful.

This year i dumped 20 lbs on a 20 year old + Longan tree that never had fruit. This year the whole tree is full of flowers.

My soil is also pretty bad, so I don't know if it would make a difference for people who have optimal soils.

I buy the 44lb+ Micronized bag for 24 dollars at my local farmer supplier.

Added my a picture of my dragonfruit. Last year this one had about 2 fruit.

[URL="http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/Reccax626/media/IMG_0092.jpg.html"][IMG]http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x464/Reccax626/IMG_0092.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

has anyone used granite dust with any detectable results?

jon:):wait:

dpurdy, Thanks for the info. Leads right into another question. Is anybody using a refractometer to measure brix content?

tqn626, great information! Just what I want to hear. The great thing about doing this, if it truly works, is that remineralizing is a process that should pay dividends for years if not decades and does not have to be done very often.

COMPOSTER,
As I continue to learn and apply some of the principles that are associated with nutrient density and brix content I plan on purchasing a refractor to measure the density in my produce. I truly believe that nutrient density will be the measuring stick in the near future. This year I hope to start monitoring my brix readings and make comparisons between this year's crop and next year. I believe that the more you understand about nutrient density, your plants will be more able to fend off disease, produce more fruit, and be healthier for you.

dpurdy,

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm thrilled you are going to do comparisons so you have a benchmark.

I try to grow about 6 months of my own produce a year and for me the real crux of the issue is providing the most healthful food I can while improving my soil. I trust what I grow so much more than what I buy. I also feel that building the soil in a way that creats long term fertility and requires purchased imputs less and less makes me feel more sucure if a real crisis were to occur.

I hope we can keep this thread going long enough to share our progress.

Glenn

Yes, I add rock dusts. Granite dusts for me. Though lava rock dust would be cool.
BTW here is a source if you want to play with a purchased product.
[url]http://www.rockdustlocal.com/store.html[/url]

IMO you don't need a lot here. Just replacing trace elements. I add about a tsp per hole. That's it. I can't tell you "if it makes a difference." I have a whole slew of practices and have never done any scientific study where all factors are controlled for except for use of rock dust. Instead its just part of my healthy soil routine which includes:

1: Keep it covered with organic mulch.
2. Keep it chemical free
3. Encourage worms with compost and high amounts of organic matter.
4. No till.
5. Replace what is removed (trace minerals etc).
6. Crop rotation or soil resting.
7. Compaction prevention.
8. Interplanting

Stacy

Anyone for a soil test? How do you know what to add if you don't know what you have? My soil test indicated that I needed Iron, Zinc, Magnesium and a bit of Boron.