North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

What always seems odd to me about the remineralization people -- at least the 
ones I've run into at conferences trying to sell rock dusts -- is they don't 
seem to want to pay attention to what's already in the particular soil.

Different soils are lacking in different things. Those things may or may not 
be present in suitable amounts in the rock dust from any particular quarry. 
In addition, different soils are high in different things, sometimes to the 
point of excess at which they interfere with specific plants' ability to take 
up other nutrients (a problem which may occur at different points with 
different plants.) Those things also may or may not be present in significant 
amounts in the rock dust from any particular quarry. But the recommendations 
always seem to be, "It doesn't matter what's there to start with! Apply more 
of our rock dust!" Isn't there a risk of getting soils further out of 
balance, rather than further into balance? Lawrence's specific ground may 
benefit from the minerals coming out of those specific quarries: but that 
doesn't mean that all fields will be benefited by applying rock dusts from 
any quarry/quarries willing to sell them.

And how much of the planet do we want to dig up in order to apply it to other 
portions of the planet?



-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale


On May 19, 2015, at 7:10 PM, Lawrence London wrote:

> Fruit and vegetables grown in well mineralized soils have: better flavor,
> larger size, better keeping qualities and are more disease and insect
> resistant.
> I have applied hundreds of tons of 4 different kinds of quarry rock dusts
> to 5 acres of my open land.