permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@sunsite.unc.edu>]

http://sunSITE.unc.edu/london   InterGarden   
london@sunSITE.unc.edu   llondon@bellsouth.net

On Sat, 25 Apr 1998, Permaculture West wrote:
> 
> Does anyone have a good reference that shows all the mineral amendments
> (gypsum, lignite, rock phosphate, kelp, etc.) and what quantities should be
> spread over what surface area?

See Eliot Coleman's book, "The New Organic Grower" for starters.
& ask Steve Diver at ATTRA about this ...

A few readily available mineral amendments are:

glauconite or New Jersey Greensand (very high potash and trace minerals) 

rock phosphate

colloidal phosphate (less P than R.P. but releases quicker)

dolomitic limestone (calcium & magnesium)

high calcium limestone

ground shell meal (high calcium)

pyrophyllite (tailings have good trace minerals and some potash, are a
    mixed aggregate containing sand-sized particles down to powder from
    the small amounts of talcum  - this is an amazing product: good
    to excellent mineral amendment for soils, excellent to fantastic
    soil texturizer, increases soil tilth rapidly; is an unbelievable
    potting soil for seedlings or nursery stock for starting and growing
    out - the root systems of plants that develop rapidly in this medium
    are almost unbelievable ...

rock dusts of various compositions from rock quarries
    granite, basalt, feldspar, etc.; that found in the settling ponds
    (used to purify the wash water used to clean the crushed rock)
    is of _extremely_ fine grit & is almost like silt & will break
    down and release minerals into garden soil sooner

hybrid granite dust, very high in potash and trace minerals
   (Ex.: Hybro-Tite, from Hybro-Tite Corp. in Lithonia, Ga., near Stone
    Mountain, Ga.)

Sul-Po-Mag

- There are many other fine products out there - look around.

LL