I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help
welcome.

Broadback wrote:
I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help
welcome.

I'm awfully sceptical about this whole thing. Rock dust is more or less
what subsoil _is_. It seems there are cases where it's done some soils a
lot of good, but it must depend on what the rock is, and what the soil
in question is lacking. I'd devote the time and money to finding lots of
organic material. (The gorse, of course, is doing your soil a lot of
good on its own.)

--
Mike.

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:
Broadback wrote:
I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help
welcome.

I'm awfully sceptical about this whole thing. Rock dust is more or less
what subsoil _is_. It seems there are cases where it's done some soils a
lot of good, but it must depend on what the rock is, and what the soil
in question is lacking. I'd devote the time and money to finding lots of
organic material. (The gorse, of course, is doing your soil a lot of
good on its own.)

No, it's for real. Rock dust is before many of the minerals have been
leached by millennia of rainfall - subsoil is the state afterwards.
Gorse is generally a good indicator of a very poor soil, often one
that has been badly leached.

A reasonable compromise would be some quarry dust and some nutrient-
rich organic matter - nightsoil would be ideal, but all of bullshit,
cowslop and pigshit are fine, horse and poultry dung not bad, but the
cardboard residue that is being sold as a peat substitute (and peat
itself) are damn-near nutrient-free.

Failing quarry dust, a 50/50 mixture of aggregate and builders' sand
would do.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing rock
dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in North
Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the cost? My
lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create something to
enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help welcome.

This topic was discussed sometime ago and the Jury is out.
I am very sceptical about the claims, although adding some sort of grit to a
growing media will aid drainage and probably give better seedlings.
In your case I would use loads of organic stuff as Nick has suggested.
If you check this site you can read more about the whole thing . I believe
they actually use masses of manure which,as Janet Barraclough pointed out,
they omit to mention, however, they are doing very good work

http://www.seercentre.org.uk/original/index-2.html
They have got distributors for the stuff .

"Rupert" wrote in message
...

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help
welcome.

This topic was discussed sometime ago and the Jury is out.
I am very sceptical about the claims, although adding some sort of grit to
a growing media will aid drainage and probably give better seedlings.
In your case I would use loads of organic stuff as Nick has suggested.
If you check this site you can read more about the whole thing . I believe
they actually use masses of manure which,as Janet Barraclough pointed out,
they omit to mention, however, they are doing very good work

http://www.seercentre.org.uk/original/index-2.html
They have got distributors for the stuff .


That should read Janet Baraclough (Sorry). How could a Yorkshireman misspell
a Yorkshire name

In article , Rupert wrote:

This topic was discussed sometime ago and the Jury is out.

Actually, I think that it is more accurate to say that it does work,
at least for most of the main rock types found in the UK, but that
isn't actually the question most people are asking. I.e. if you
need to create soil from scratch, yes, a mixture of rock dust and
even nutrient-poor organic matter is very good.

However, so is a mixture of suitable subsoils and nutrient-rich
organic matter, and that is usually much easier to arrange.

But most people want to know if it will work as a fertiliser, and
I don't think that anyone has presented any useful evidence, so the
jury hasn't even been sent out yet!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains these words:

Broadback wrote:
I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse. all help
welcome.

I'm awfully sceptical about this whole thing. Rock dust is more or less
what subsoil _is_. It seems there are cases where it's done some soils a
lot of good, but it must depend on what the rock is, and what the soil
in question is lacking. I'd devote the time and money to finding lots of
organic material. (The gorse, of course, is doing your soil a lot of
good on its own.)


Rock dust added to poor soil has been shown to have an amazing effect,
but whether this was due to the original impoverishment of the soil
(mountainside, IIRC) or its pH, I don't know.

But much subsoil has been leached for millennia and most of the soluble
nutrients have gone. Only the most recent deposits, mainly clay, are
really fertile.

I'd say it was well worth a try, and bags of rock dust can be bought - a
good googling should find a supply.

Try one bag and a small area first, and a similar untreated one with the
same crop, as a control.

And then report back here!

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

In article ,
Janet Baraclough writes:
|
| It's spelled two ways (by Bar(r)acloughs), and approximately 37 ways
| by the rest of the ignorant world including my brother. Don't get me
| started on how they mispronounce it...

Only 37? You should try Maclaren - it is spelled well over 100
ways by members of the clan Labhran, and many times that in error.
For some reason, the English are especially incapable of even
copying what is in front of them in print.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 24/2/06 13:47, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
Janet Baraclough writes:
|
| It's spelled two ways (by Bar(r)acloughs), and approximately 37 ways
| by the rest of the ignorant world including my brother. Don't get me
| started on how they mispronounce it...

Only 37? You should try Maclaren - it is spelled well over 100
ways by members of the clan Labhran, and many times that in error.
For some reason, the English are especially incapable of even
copying what is in front of them in print.

My ex's surname was Villiers which is pronounced without the final 'i' being
sounded, as in 'Villers'. I lost count of the infuriating numbers of times
I would give the name correctly to someone who would then repeat it as
Villyers, as if they knew better than I did how to pronounce my name. And
then there were the numerous occasions when envelopes would be addressed to
us as if we were houses......!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
)

The message
from Janet Baraclough contains these words:

It's spelled two ways (by Bar(r)acloughs), and approximately 37 ways
by the rest of the ignorant world including my brother. Don't get me
started on how they mispronounce it...


Someone who shall remain nameless...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from Janet Baraclough contains these words:

The message
from Rusty Hinge 2 contains these words:


Rock dust added to poor soil has been shown to have an amazing effect,


Where?


Scotland.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 24 Feb 2006 09:19:12 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

In article , Rupert wrote:

This topic was discussed sometime ago and the Jury is out.

Actually, I think that it is more accurate to say that it does work,
at least for most of the main rock types found in the UK, but that
isn't actually the question most people are asking. I.e. if you
need to create soil from scratch, yes, a mixture of rock dust and
even nutrient-poor organic matter is very good.

However, so is a mixture of suitable subsoils and nutrient-rich
organic matter, and that is usually much easier to arrange.

But most people want to know if it will work as a fertiliser, and
I don't think that anyone has presented any useful evidence, so the
jury hasn't even been sent out yet!

It would also depend greatly on the type of rock. Limestone or marble
dust, for example would result in an alkaline 'soil', in the same way
as simply adding lime (much 'lime' sold in garden centres is limestone
dust, anyway). A granite dust would be very mildly acidic and might
provide traces of potash. Then there's gabbro, slate etc., a long
list, all different and each contributing it's own suite of trace
elements.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Ian Paul Freemanly wrote:
Broadback Stroked my keelbasa and whined:

I'm sure that many of you have seen the recent publicity about mixing
rock dust with compost to make a great soil growing media. I live in
North Staffordshire, is this dust available near here and what is the
cost? My lower garden is devoid of top soil, I would love to create
something to enable me to grow anything, apart from gorse.


HTH
Adding manure ( I use lots) to the ground I wish to improve will do no
good. It is what I believe is called gravel, with no topsoil at all. I
say believe because my idea of gravel is the sharp edged small stones
that are used for concrete making. This is various sized pebbles in a
very meagre amount of sand and clay.

In article ,
Broadback wrote:

Adding manure ( I use lots) to the ground I wish to improve will do no
good. It is what I believe is called gravel, with no topsoil at all. I
say believe because my idea of gravel is the sharp edged small stones
that are used for concrete making. This is various sized pebbles in a
very meagre amount of sand and clay.

I suggest a few loads of builders's sand, and a third the amount of
manure. It may not work, but nothing much else will if it doesn't.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren Stroked my keelbasa and whined:

In article ,
Broadback wrote:

Adding manure ( I use lots) to the ground I wish to improve will do no
good. It is what I believe is called gravel, with no topsoil at all. I
say believe because my idea of gravel is the sharp edged small stones
that are used for concrete making. This is various sized pebbles in a
very meagre amount of sand and clay.

I suggest a few loads of builders's sand, and a third the amount of
manure. It may not work, but nothing much else will if it doesn't.

Move to France. Better class of people.