Rock Dust Recipe for Coot-style soil mix

[lalstalls]

One version of the ClackamasCootz soil mix contains "4 cups of some minerals - rock dust." And there are variants of the mineral recipes, and a number of nice discussions on this topic.

But there are only a few mentions of mixes from RockDustLocal.com. I just discovered a RockDustLocal source near me. Nice.

Are any of you familiar with their mixes? Might their RichMix BioChar hit it home in a Coot-inspired soil?

Thanks!

 

[Team Microbe]

I have the recipe for Coots mix and it's always been 4 cups brix blend so that would be perfect I think.

You can substitute the biochar for your aeration amendment at 10% of your entire soil mix if you want to benefit from that as well. So if your mix was 99 gallons with 33 gallons of peat, pumice, and compost you would use 10 gallons biochar, with 23 gallons pumice.

Their mixes look rock dust based however, I don't see any neem, crab, oyster, kelp or gypsum anywhere in there so I wouldn't use any of these as your main nutrient kit.

Coot's recipe can be found in my "what is no till gardening?" signature link, I added malted barley and worms to the recipe though

 

[lalstalls]

I have the recipe for Coots mix and it's always been 4 cups brix blend so that would be perfect I think.

Okay - that would be their BrixBlend Basalt - not the BrixBlend Humate or a combo of BrixBlend + Ruby Mountain "Stone Flour"?

You can substitute the biochar for your aeration amendment at 10% of your entire soil mix if you want to benefit from that as well. So if your mix was 99 gallons with 33 gallons of peat, pumice, and compost you would use 10 gallons biochar, with 23 gallons pumice.

Thanks for this - I'll get some BioChar when I go, too.

Their mixes look rock dust based however, I don't see any neem, crab, oyster, kelp or gypsum anywhere in there so I wouldn't use any of these as your main nutrient kit.

I've got kelp meal, neem meal, crab meal, alfalfa meal, and gypsum. No worries there. I even have some rock phosphate (but I don't think that will suffice for minerals).

Your "What is No Till Gardening?" is a nice write-up. Bookmarked!

 

[Aphotic]

Even just granite flour, or decomposed granite, or crushed granite with fines will go very far, if yuou add some azomite, bentonite, or any of the other mineral rich clays you'll be ahead of the game.

 

[Aphotic]

It bugs me that I can't see the volume of biochar your getting, add in moisture, and rock dust, I don't believe 20lbs is going to get you very far. I'd say, if you can, to get the components separate, and mix yourself, you can activate your own biochar.

 

[lalstalls]

Thanks, Aphotic. I will get the char and inoculate it myself.

I'm planning on getting the BrixBlend Basalt and St. George's Black (a local source) at Rock Dust Local.

Thanks for the input, all!

 

[Team Microbe]

Okay - that would be their BrixBlend Basalt - not the BrixBlend Humate or a combo of BrixBlend + Ruby Mountain "Stone Flour"?



Thanks for this - I'll get some BioChar when I go, too.



I've got kelp meal, neem meal, crab meal, alfalfa meal, and gypsum. No worries there. I even have some rock phosphate (but I don't think that will suffice for minerals).

Your "What is No Till Gardening?" is a nice write-up. Bookmarked!

Yes correct, brixblend basalt.

Do you have any oyster shell flour as well? I say this because the CC kit is all of that if you swamp the alfalfa for the oyster shell

 

[Aphotic]

Yes correct, brixblend basalt.

Do you have any oyster shell flour as well? I say this because the CC kit is all of that if you swamp the alfalfa for the oyster shell

I thought CC's mix had both oyster flour and alfalfa? I'm rolling with both.

 

[Team Microbe]

I thought CC's mix had both oyster flour and alfalfa? I'm rolling with both.

Nope just oyster flour:

Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot

Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 cup per cubic foot

Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot

Gypsum Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Brix Blend Basalt @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Glacial Rock Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Oyster Flour @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

 

[lalstalls]

By the way, I've got crushed oyster shells, not flour. I assume a fraction of that will be available as the flour would, but the rest might take a little while to break down. Should I throw in a little extra, or maybe supplement it with something like gypsum?

About "the aeration deal" question with which I started this thread: I got some local light-weight shale today at Rock Dust Local. It's not as light as pumice; but it's pretty nice. I think I'll use in combo with charged char and maybe a little perlite.

 

[Aphotic]

Nope just oyster flour:

Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot

Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 cup per cubic foot

Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot

Gypsum Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Brix Blend Basalt @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Glacial Rock Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Oyster Flour @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

I wasn't aware that alfalfa had a high calcium content, and if it does I can't imagine it's slow release.

Is that coots new mix? I've never seen that version, I've only seen the one the OP referred to, calling for mineral/rock dusts and one other I'll have to dig up to show you, both are years old.

You've seen my mix TM in my journal, it doesn't vary that much to the version of CCs mix I worked off of, the main additions were azomite, and I think two others... I need to look back at my notes.

 

[Aphotic]

By the way, I've got crushed oyster shells, not flour. I assume a fraction of that will be available as the flour would, but the rest might take a little while to break down. Should I throw in a little extra, or maybe supplement it with something like gypsum?

About "the aeration deal" question with which I started this thread: I got some local light-weight shale today at Rock Dust Local. It's not as light as pumice; but it's pretty nice. I think I'll use in combo with charged char and maybe a little perlite.

Damn, my reply got nuked.

I'd mix the shale with some of your clay pellets, like 1-1-1 ratio of clay, shale, biochar. It's nice to have variety, and it'll lighten your load a bit. As far as the oyster shell product, I used the same thing, I just added a bit more, most gardeners use the crushed as it has a good deal of flour, and it adds texture to the soil, and will keep releasing for years to come. Microbe man has done some testing on maximum biochar quantities in soil, I do t remember off hand the numbers he was throwing out, but I think that once you get up to 17% or so it can be detrimental for some plant species, but don't quote me on that. I'll try to find the post for you, it's somewhere in the hundreds of bookmarks I have of this site

 

[Slipnot]

I would not bother with Rock dust it simply does not work in most cases .
Rock dust technically is insoluble or very very low solubility so with other then microbial life or some process of weathering your not going to get any minerals out of them .
Adding Rock dust to poorly made compost or Biochar
what will happen is the microlife will use up the rock dust to digest the poorly made compost and bio char ..
Robbing nutrients from your plants in many cases adding Rock dust will give you negative results
Same thing applies with Bio char poorly made bio char will infact draw away nutrents away from the plant and cause depressed growth

What you want to do recipe for success is adding rock dust to your compost bin this way it all gets simulated, So when you add it to you beds or pots its all assimulated abd ready to go ..
Rather then adding it straight to the soil which can cause you isssue

also Rock dust comes in many forms Azomite ??? that is really not Rock Dust
you have Glacier rock dust which even though it sounds GREAT Stay away from that most of the nutrients or plant nutrients have been washed away ..
If your looking for a good rock dust look for volcanic

whars ironic is many people do not realize or know how that you should be acrivating Rock dust also

 

[Aphotic]

I would not bother with Rock dust it simply does not work in most cases .
Rock dust technically is insoluble or very very low solubility so with other then microbial life or some process of weathering your not going to get any minerals out of them .
Adding Rock dust to poorly made compost or Biochar
what will happen is the microlife will use up the rock dust to digest the poorly made compost and bio char ..
Robbing nutrients from your plants in many cases adding Rock dust will give you negative results
Same thing applies with Bio char poorly made bio char will infact draw away nutrents away from the plant and cause depressed growth

What you want to do recipe for success is adding rock dust to your compost bin this way it all gets simulated, So when you add it to you beds or pots its all assimulated abd ready to go ..
Rather then adding it straight to the soil which can cause you isssue

also Rock dust comes in many forms Azomite ??? that is really not Rock Dust
you have Glacier rock dust which even though it sounds GREAT Stay away from that most of the nutrients or plant nutrients have been washed away ..
If your looking for a good rock dust look for volcanic

whars ironic is many people do not realize or know how that you should be acrivating Rock dust also

Azomite is a mineral rich volcanic clay, and yes adding something like granite flour or other rock flours is a great addition to compost, but it's also a great addition to soil. I suppose, as with most things, more isn't necessarily better. I don't think the OP is planning on using rediculous amounts of rock dust in the first place. In CCs original recipie the Op mentioned, doesn't specify which rock dusts or clays to use. When you say in many cases adding rock dusts is detrimental, that has not been my experience, nor have I read of this being an issue for many people.

I think CCs mix is a fine place to start, rock dusts and all. CC also uses clays in his mix, not only for their mineral content, but also for their high CEC. I highly recommend that you use rock dusts in your soil, just follow closely a good soil mix like CCs, Jay's, or several others that come highly recommended on this site and you can't go wrong. Making quality compost is very easily accomplished, if you wish to go this route I can recommend an 18 day method that I've been using for years that makes wonderful compost.

My soil mix, which I based off of CCs mix is loaded with compost, biochar, rock dusts, and mineral clays. And my first grow with it was the easiest, most trouble free, and gratifying grow I've ever had. And no, the minerals have not been washed out of glacial rock dust, and yes it's fine to use. I also didn't "activate", my bio char, rock dusts, or wood chips, not that I recommend you skip this step, But I had no issues. It's generally considered a good idea to compost your wood chips, and bio char, or activate it outside the compost pile. I've never had an issue in my gardens adding these components without activating them, so I skipped that step.

Bottom line is, don't stress out about this stuff, do your research, keep asking questions, and try to have fun!

 

[Team Microbe]

Activating rock dust? That's a new one...

 

[Aphotic]

Activating rock dust? That's a new one...

I'm surprised we have any plants left alive considering the dangers of rock dusts.

 

[heady blunts]

rock dust local is great. i've got A LOT of their basalt in the mix.

also got a bag of the bio char but i'm not a fan of that product. its screened pretty fine and "remineralized" which i foudn kinda suspect. i like my bio char activated and with some chunky bits.

i've been thinking about including that ruby mountain in my next recipe.

 

[Aphotic]

rock dust local is great. i've got A LOT of their basalt in the mix.

also got a bag of the bio char but i'm not a fan of that product. its screened pretty fine and "remineralized" which i foudn kinda suspect. i like my bio char activated and with some chunky bits.

i've been thinking about including that ruby mountain in my next recipe.

Are you using other rock dusts and Clays besides basalt? How much is A LOT, lol. Is there any reason you chose basalt over granite? I had planned on using both, but i haven't found a local source yet with a decent price. The granite product I get looks similar in consistency to RDLs brix basalt mix. Which basalt product of theirs are you using?

RDLs bio char is kind of a ripoff, the majority of the weight is rock dust, and water. I really don't see any point in buying either of their bio char mixes, it would be far cheaper to buy the seperate components, and soaking your char in a weak fish hydrosylate solution.

You can get 2-3 times more biochar for the same price if you do a little searching around the net. Locally, I paid $20 for 1 cubic foot. If you're into producing things yourself, bio char is very easy to make. I haven't set up my bio char maker on my new farm yet, but in the past I've made several batches using a 55gal metal drum. One of the byproducts of biochar production is wood gas, which you can collect and run things with it, or simply feed it back into the fire to help speed up production. One of my friends back in Montana converted his old pickup to run on wood gas.

I believe the ruby mountain product is just granite with a higher than normal garnet concentration. The granite product I buy, comes from a rock and mineral company, it's crushed with fines, so essential what I get is comprised of about 2/3 fine chips, and 1/3 flour or dust. I pay $3.85 for each 100lb bag. It's sad how much they inflate the prices of anything grow related.

Here's a pic of the bio char I buy, I made the photo high contrast B&W so you could see the size a little better, is prefer bigger chunks as well, but so far this product seems to work just fine. That's another reason why making your own is rad, you get to pick the size.

Well I hope that all made sense, it's 5:30am and I haven't slept yet, so I'm getting a little loopy

 

[MrBreeze911]

Azomite is a mineral rich volcanic clay, and yes adding something like granite flour or other rock flours is a great addition to compost, but it's also a great addition to soil. I suppose, as with most things, more isn't necessarily better. I don't think the OP is planning on using rediculous amounts of rock dust in the first place. In CCs original recipie the Op mentioned, doesn't specify which rock dusts or clays to use. When you say in many cases adding rock dusts is detrimental, that has not been my experience, nor have I read of this being an issue for many people.

I think CCs mix is a fine place to start, rock dusts and all. CC also uses clays in his mix, not only for their mineral content, but also for their high CEC. I highly recommend that you use rock dusts in your soil, just follow closely a good soil mix like CCs, Jay's, or several others that come highly recommended on this site and you can't go wrong. Making quality compost is very easily accomplished, if you wish to go this route I can recommend an 18 day method that I've been using for years that makes wonderful compost.

My soil mix, which I based off of CCs mix is loaded with compost, biochar, rock dusts, and mineral clays. And my first grow with it was the easiest, most trouble free, and gratifying grow I've ever had. And no, the minerals have not been washed out of glacial rock dust, and yes it's fine to use. I also didn't "activate", my bio char, rock dusts, or wood chips, not that I recommend you skip this step, But I had no issues. It's generally considered a good idea to compost your wood chips, and bio char, or activate it outside the compost pile. I've never had an issue in my gardens adding these components without activating them, so I skipped that step.

Bottom line is, don't stress out about this stuff, do your research, keep asking questions, and try to have fun!

What is your soil mix? I can make biochar and there is a local quarry with cheap rock dust nearby. I also have free pine wood chips available from a neighbor who is a tree service. I also have access to unlimited free horse manure. I also have access to free alpaca manure. I have a compost pile going now and I can get local worms and etc for bins etc. My native soil is clay and large stones, but I've been using 200 gal fabric pots.

 

[St. Phatty]

Don't they need to be more specific about the chemical composition of the rock dust ?

There's hundreds of different rock dusts that one can find.

Many more that are made.

Do they always use one specific chemistry of rock to get the agricultural rock dust from ?