North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

On Tue, May 19, 2015 at 8:47 PM, Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>
wrote:

> Different soils are lacking in different things.
>

Have soil tests done. TPSL is recommended.


> Those things may or may not be present in suitable amounts in the rock
> dust from any particular quarry.
>

Each quarry offers a MDSS for their rock. You know what the percentages of
the chemical components of the rock are. Match MDSS with soil test
recommendations.


> 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
>

Again, do soil tests and read the MDSS on available dusts. Moderate some
imbalances by adding specific minerals needed. If you have too much
magnesium from overapplication of dolomitic lime or too much wood ash or
greensand then other methods will be necessary to bring soil back into
balance. Michael Astera (soil minerals.com) has wtitten extensively about
this plus a book on interpreting soil test results (steep learning curve).


> 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.  ,
>

It is always wise to use a variety of rock quarry dusts plus known mineral
amendments, seaweed meal, greensand, azomite, rock phosphate and if you
need pH balancing,  aragonite and high calcium limestone, even shell meal,
compost, leaves, eggshells, feather meal, blood meal, crab and fish wastes,
sawdust and bark, hay and cover crop ploughdown; all contribute minerals
and nutrient balancing.


> 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?
>

With the MDSS you know in advance what minerals you are applying and at
what rate. My guess is that most quarry dusts are safe to use and will not
cause noticeable imbalances. Farmers in my region have been using the dusts
I purchased for land application for many years. They are the lucky ones.


> 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.
>

The rock under the parent soil under the topsoil on my land is the same as
one of the types of quarry rock dusts I imported, same material. The others
were real granite and  pyrophyllite.

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

They quarry rock for use in roads, blacktop, concrete and riprap. Silt is a
byproduct washed into ponds later removed to add to giant berms or give
away or in some cases, sell.
No quarries, no construction.


-- 
Lawrence F. London
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
Ello: @ecoponderosa <https://ello.co/ecoponderosa>
https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared/
https://sites.google.com/site/venaurafarm/