>> JOHN: This is John Kohler with growingyourgreens.com, here in my front yard garden I have a good
friend here with me today and is what I consider an expert
on rock dust and growing in minerals.
>> DON: Would you stop that?
[laughs] >> JOHN: Don't breathe the rock dust, you
want to always wear a mask because it is fine particles and it could clog up your lungs.
>> DON: Right...
Sure.
Very fine rock dust.
>> JOHN: Don't breathe it in that's one thing but guys we're going to talk on todays show
more about rock dust, with Don we're going to learn why we should
use rock dust and what the benefits are of using rock dust and
more importantly how to apply the rock dust, take it away Don.
What are the benefits of using rock dust?
I mean I have vibrant plants but you've done a lot of trials and testing and 30 years you've
been doing this.
>> DON: Vibrant people that's another benefit.
[laughs] >> JOHN: So what's the benefits of using the
rock dust in the soil for the plants, and for us for that matter?
>> DON: Well the benefits are they have all the nutrients they need to grow and thrive
and fulfill their genetic potential, it's true with every organism that's
depending on the soil fertility and the plants that grow there
which is all life that lives on the land, even the sea life depends on the minerals
and the chain of life there starting with minerals and microorganisms
in the oceans so it's basically the same kind of environment making
sure all the microbes have all that they need their job on the Earth if you want to call
it that.
Their genetic potential, their destiny whatever you want to call it.
To do their job and then the plants will thrive the benefits to the plant so they
can be healthier, they can produce more, they can produce more seeds,
that produce more plants, that's what they're trying to do generally is to fruit and produce
seeds and propagate themselves, spread and replenish
the Earth.
We can help them obviously by making sure the soil is rich and fertile and has all the
minerals, enough organic matter to feed the microbes, the organic matter
they need theres not many microbes that live exclusively on minerals.
Most of them use minerals and organic rock minerals plus the organic compounds and soil
that we provide through compost and molching and the natural decay of plants
and plant matter also animal matter as well.
The benefits, the health benefits - every kind of health benefit imaginable, mental,
physical, spiritual, health.
It's largely dependent on food, nutrition and starting with the foundation what is foundation
everyone?
I think we all know by now.
>> JOHN: Soil!
>> DON: I'll go along with that.
[laughs] So we think of a better system and move everything
out the soil and the hydroponic systems.
[laughs] Basically that are growing from soil, yes
that works.
Give it its full chance to show us, show us what it can do.
>> JOHN: We are the soil.
>> DON: We can show it what we can do.
>> JOHN: The biggest question a lot of my viewers have, like I get so often, how much
rock dust do I use and can I burrow my plants by putting rock dust on?
>> DON: We've been through all this.
[laughs] >> JOHN: I know, but my viewers haven't.
[laughs] >> DON: I like to say that to each other.
What was the question?
>> JOHN: You're watching stuff.
>> DON: How much, Steph and Reve out there, we have to give credit to Steph and Reve from
Mowie who first said we've been through all this.
He's very patient though.
So anyway, how much I recommend, usually about a pound per square foot of soil, pound of
rock powder as an initial generous free mineralization.
If it's very fine you can add less it's quite a bit on the acreage, on the acre scale it's
like 20 times per acre and most farmers might see that as too much
or too expensive for some so they might want to do less,
if it's finally ground material like these, a quarter pound per square foot on a large
scale which is 5 tonnes per acre, would probably give very good first results.
Complimenting other organic practices and just general good soil and Earth care.
I encourage a pound per square foot if it's possible as an initial re-mineralization for
soils that have never had rock dust.
Yours that have been generously re-mineralised and you're cropping every year you want to
probably give that, at least enough to replenish what you're borrowing
back from the soil.
Of course you're composting whilst trying to recycle things back to the soil, once you
get the soil up to a high level then the maintenance amount would
probably be at least a generous sprinkling before you plant another crop.
But again quarter of a pound per square foot as a maintenance dust might be a good guideline.
Everyone can tap into their own gardeners intuition, observe their soils and their garden
and their farm and try to discern what makes sense in their particular
unique situation.
>> JOHN: So another question I get is, John I'm using like granite dust or marble dust
and I'm doing good, that's rock dust right?
Hey Don, is marble dust or granite dust the same as gravel dust or rock dust?
What is better, are they all good?
>> DON: Actually gravel dust has been confused with granite dust for many years, because
granite dust, some granite dusts have been commercially
on the markets since the 1950s I think, starting with HYPROTIGHT out of Georgia in the 50s.
It seemed to work pretty well, high in some minerals like potassium but not generally
granites being a single type of rock, don't have the full spectrum
of minerals you would find in a mixed gravel where you may have
10 or 20 different types of rocks, often you'll see in gravels like river gravels circulation
gravels too.
Theres all kinds of different colors and types of rocks there and if you grind them all together
and mix them, it's sort of the difference between just trying
to live on apples alone for granite dust and having
a big bowl of 20 kinds of fruit and living on that, 10 fruits 10 vegetables, whatever
else you might eat.
Marble dust when you finish your granite dust, you might want to use that or use it as part
of a mixture of other types of rocks if you only have access to
granite dust like some parts of the world are pretty granitic and you
may only have access to that.
But most areas you can get a mixture of different types like gravel dust and broad mixtures
of rocks that should ensure the full spectrum of biologically essential
minerals which we're looking to put in the soil and have
in the foods and have going into our bodies and brains, so they will function most optimally.
With marble dust, I've heard of people using that in Nepah and they're getting counter
productive results.
It seemed that peed plaque grows somehow or growth stunted.
I'm not sure why that happened with the marble dust but
marble is a pretty specialist kind of rock, maybe it was way too high in silicon and it
could have had severe imbalances of magnesium and some things
like there's soils in California that are really high in magnesium
and they grow these stunted pygmy forests they're called, like they met in the Mendocino
county I think that's if I recall correctly it's due to the
severe mineral imbalances, really low phosphorous but they have
magnesium, something like that.
Again, nature creates the most fertile soils, you can look for examples in different part
of the world, by mixing together different types of rocks
and somehow reducing those rocks to fine powder whether through
wave action, water action, glacial action, tumbling of rocks, water castriument systems,
oops.
[laughs] That's our cue to turn it over to John so
anyway, broad spectrum re-mineralization usually is the good mixture
of different types of rocks so that's what I suggest people look for to duplicate natures
method of producing the most fertile soils.
>> JOHN: Alright so the other question Don, is rock phosphate so that is a variable, is
that the same as rock dust and adding this kind of stuff?
>> DON: Well rock phosphate is another kind of rock dust like limestone, granite dust.
It's a single type of rock from more specialized deposits of ancient marine creatures, commonly
produces phosphate rock over millions of years with
compression of sea floor beds and mostly the sea floor it's my understanding.
In some areas phosphate and the natural rocks may be lower than you'd want ideally so maybe
phosphate rock added to the natural mix might be beneficial
but generally in most peoples experience and by now
analyzed in rock mixtures, it usually seems to be enough phosphorous imbalance with all
the other minerals.
Phosphate rock has been used as kind of a foresting agent in chemical agriculture by
putting it in higher amounts and residulating it with acids like
sulfuric acid first to make it more highly available.
It's more like a drug in a way, the forests grow along with the chemical nitrogen and
the chemical potassium.
I don't really recommend that way of agriculture, if you're interested in the natural methods
and you're trying to produce a healthy balance providing
all the minerals simultaneously so that's the balance
for us driving for I think is to get the balance of nutrients in the soil and the foods in
ourselves.
Then we can go merrily on living in balance, healthy, productive, constructive life for
everybody.
>> JOHN: Alright great Don so basically I think to sum it up and correct me if I'm wrong.
>> DON: Oh I will.
>> JOHN: Alright, cool.
We want to just have enough balance, a balance in health, a balance in nature and a balance
in our gardens.
The way to get the balance of minerals in our garden is not by these specific rock powders
like granite dust, marble dust or phosphates or whatever.
We want to use rock dust minerals so that has the nice balance of minerals thereby supplying
the plants what it needs, what would naturally be in
nature - the best.
Right?
>> DON: Makes sense to me.
The broad spectrum of mixed rocks rather than single types of rocks,
again just like having too limited a diet you want a varied diet so you can make sure
you get all the nutrients from different sources to add a
natural balance, different plants take up different
concentrations of all the different elements and create different amounts of vitamins and
amino acids and enzymes.
It's a matter of diversity and variety and full spectrum mineralization is really the
foundation of that.
>> JOHN: Alright so full spectrum mineralization is really important.
This stuff is, well there's around 20-30 dollars per bag depending on where you live.
Actually well 15-30 dollars a bag depending on where you live, the shipping involved.
To get these guys for me so I bought basically a truck load of this gravel dust for like
$20 and it was like a big whole bunch, there was as much
as my truck could hold because it's heavy.
It wasn't mostly dust there was actually a lot of little rocks and stones so what people
find, the finest stuff that they have at their local
gravel yard has some dust but also lots of stones.
Could they use that at all, so put that into their ground, is that better than not using
anything?
>> DON: Yes, it won't do any harm, traditionally farmers in some parts of the world have said,
oh stones in our field, let's get them out of there!
Maybe because there's too much for cultivating easily or something but generally stones become
soil eventually, if they're not in the way of your cultivation
and your gardening find those stones.
>> JOHN: Small gravel pieces.
>> DON: Yes, you usually find some soils need better drainage so they need more stone in
there to help to drain it, especially clay soils.
If your soil already drains really fast maybe you don't want to put so much sand up to gravel
size stones in there but generally if you're adding with dust,
the dust is going to help the soil become richer and able to hold moisture better,
and not drain so quickly like sand, real sandy and for little soils too.
You're trying to build biological life in the soil, billions and billions of microbes,
bacteria, fungi and acting my seats so then there'll be Earth
worms that feed on those little tiny creatures, you want Earth worms
doing most of your cultivation unless you really love digging which is fun but Earth
worms can do most of your digging for you if you get the soil enriched,
let them do their job and we can do our job which is being wise,
conscious, people that see what's needed and give it, don't be too stingy now you may not
last long thinking of the whole human race.
But giving, being the generous species on Earth I often say that in my talks, it's time
for us to become the conscious and generous species if we want
to stay here, that's an option to not stay here but I'd prefer staying
[laughs] and recreating paradise for everyone, we are
the soil we are the world.
[laughs] It's time for the song folks.
>> JOHN: We are the world, we are the ones to make a bright day so let's start living.
Growing...
>> DON: Living!
>> JOHN: Growing!
>> DON: Living and growing!
[laughs] Need we say more?
>> JOHN: So I hope you've learned more about using rock dust and what's important.
Be sure to check the other video I have on the specifics about the different kind of
rock dust and which one may be the most beneficial for
you.
Once again this is John Kohler and...
>> DON: Don Weaver, thank you very much, to life.
>> JOHN: With growingyourgreens.com and remember if you're not using rock dust, start today.
We'll see you next time.