Here's the question of the day : " What do glaciers and volcanoes have to do with growing great fruits and vegetables ? " ...Well , directly these gigantic blocks of ice and fiery mountains of hot lava don't really work wonders for us in the garden.
However it's the aftereffects of these processes when added to our soils in the form of rock powder that can totally transform our fruits and vegetables into mineral rich produce.
Over thousands of years , glaciers crush rock onto the earth's mantle. Volcanoes erupt spewing forth minerals from deep within the earth. Other forces of nature such as wind blow the dust known as loess all over the globe.
Rushing rivers deposit mineral-rich alluvial deposits.
Within the silicate and glacial moraine that are the end result of these forces of nature are rich deposits of up to one hundred minerals and trace elements necessary to the well being of all of life and the creation of fertile soils.
Glacial moraine and other rock powders can be added to our soils to create a sustainable and superior alternative to the ultimately harmful overuse of synthetic fertilizers , pesticides, and herbicides.
A Brief History Of Soil Re-Mineralization :
Research and experimentation of SR ( Soil Re-mineralization ) has been primarily studied by three distinct groups.
1. A German nutritional biochemist by the name of Julius Hensel , pioneered SR in the 1880;s with his book " Bread from Stones ."
Following his contribution, a modest agricultural movement came into being. In the late 1930's, many scientists in Germany and throughout Europe performed research on SR for agricultural lands and forests.
Researches included Peter Von Fragstein at the University of Kessel , Germany. He researched re-mineralization , using many different rock types , as slow release fertilizer and an insect deterrent.
The technology at that time was not available to produce finely ground rock dust on a large scale.
2. Second , is the more recently developed field of agrogeology. This research has been mainly carried out in Canada, Brazil, the Canary Islands ,and West Africa. Because of the intense tropical rainfall in several of these areas where SR research took place , the conventional NPK fertilizers are washed out of soils in only a few weeks , and cannot be stored by the soils. This washing of fertilizers into the groundwater is especially harmful.
Rock fertilizers applied to these problematic soils has shown to not only give a steady supply of nutrients for a longer period of time to cultivated plants , but also greatly improved the improved the ion -exchange capacity of the soils by forming new clay minerals during the weathering of the fertilizer.
3. Third is the grass - roots movement based on the premise of John Hamaker in his book "The Survival of Civilization ." He asserts the SR is the key to restoring our soils and forests .
He especially recommends rock gravels and glacial moraine from glacial deposits , which provide the most natural mixture of rocks with the broadest possible spectrum of minerals and trace elements.
This movement began with Hamakers's writing in the early 1970s and developed in the 1980s into a global grass-roots community consisting of ecologically concerned individuals and organizations , farmers and gardeners , and scientists and policy makers.
The USDA began a series of demonstration trials with rock fines (from Georgia, Maryland, and New York) and with other industrial by-products. Dr. Ronald Korcak, research leader of the fruit lab, directed the trials over a three-year period.
The USDA is also beginning to research the use of rock dust in compost under the direction of Dr. Larry Sikora. The now defunct U.S. Bureau of Mines designed a prototype for a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) database to target soils in most need of SR and identify their distance from regional sources of rock fines, enabling the USBM to calculate transportation costs and determine the marketability of specific rock fines.
The National Aggregate Association has a Task Force on Remineralization that is exploring the possibilities for creating sustainable products for agriculture, forestry, and other uses.
Research projects are currently underway at universities, as part of the research and development programs of some of the largest aggregate companies in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and through organizations such as Men of the Trees in Australia.
A paradigm shift away from conventional chemical NPK farming is a vast new frontier, Soil Remineralization—the key to the sustainable agriculture of tomorrow.
The agenda for SR is clear: to create abundance in an era of diminishing resources and lead us away from fossil fuels. Remineralization is nature's way to regenerate soils.
12 Benefits Of Re-Mineralization :
1. Provides slow , natural release of necessary minerals and trace elements to the plant.
2. Increases the nutrient uptake of the plant.
3. Increases yields and gives higher brix readings.
4. Re balances soil PH.
5. Increases earthworm activity and other beneficial microbes
6. Builds humus complex.
7. Prevents soil erosion.
8. Increases the storage capacity of soil.
9. Increases resistance to insects, frost, drought , and other diseases.
10. Produces more nutritious crops.
11. Enhances flavor in crops.
12. Decreases dependence on fertilizers , pesticides , and herbicides.
Click here to find a list of companies that specialize in rock powders and ocean byproducts.
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