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  • From: Brian <bcluton AT aol.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] What is Rock Phosphate?
  • Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2011 08:40:31 -0500

Agreed to checking into what else might be in the grindings. 

And indeed rocks of granite origins are not going to contain much if any phosphorous. They are likely to be primarily potassium silicates. And as with any rock material not readily available. They can be good long term soil building materials depending on what your soil needs and soil long as you have good biological activity. 

Brian


On Dec 2, 2011, at 8:11 AM, Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net> wrote:

I don't think there's usually much phosphate in granite; though will defer to geologists or soil scientists on this.

I would also strongly recommend asking the well driller whether anything used in the drilling process might be mixed with the rock grindings, and if so what the material is. I don't know whether they use lubricants etc.; presumably anything used is either nontoxic or in some manner prevented from getting into the well, but I'd want to find out which before putting the grindings on the beds.

Before assuming that your particular asparagus beds need phosphate, I'd get a soil test. In some areas this nutrient is naturally high; and in some other areas, some gardens and fields are high in it due to years of historic excess applications.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



On Dec 1, 2011, at 11:48 PM, Thomas P Hurtgen wrote:

Can the rock grindings from well drilling be used on vegetable and flower beds?  I read that asparagus in particular benefits from an application of rock phosphate.  Would grindings from well drilling be a substitute for bags of rock phosphate from the local supplier?  The well driller has said that most of the rock is a type of granite.  Thanks much for any help/advice offered

Thomas P Hurtgen (7b)

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