permaculture

["Ava Devenport" <essenheal@iname.com>]

Regarding the use of stone as an organic fertilizer, I have never used 
granite myself, but I do use volcanic lava rock.  I use it as a 'natural 
mulch' instead of bark or chips on all my beds.  There is a myriad of 
minerals stored in all rock/stone which breaks down slowly over time (with 
watering or rainfall) and adds their nutrients to your plants.  The only 
rock I would caution for use is limestone, as your soil may not need to be 
'sweetened' and the pH balance could become unbalanced, unless you need to 
bring down the acidity of your soil.

At times, I will remove the stone and add some cedar chips then replace the 
stone over the top.  I have gotten some extremely good results with this 
practice, as the chips stay moist under the stone without the direct 
sunlight and break down into a very nutrient rich soil.  I now have some of 
the largest earthworms I've seen in years, and very plentiful also.

Blessings,
Ava