rockdustlocal.com are selling 35lbs of their basalt microfines for $28.50 shipped. i think its the best deal on the net right now.
Hate to ruin the perfect 420 replies to this thread but man, this stuff is beautiful! What a lovely ingredient. Well worth the effort tracking it down.
Wouldn't call it better, rather diversity in my opinion. I got the brix blend and we shall see what the difference is here soon
I'm wondering about the microfine basalt vs the regular basalt from RockDustLocal. the 35lb bag is tempting at that price but honestly would be way more than I would use in a long time, my grow is pretty small (2x 5 gallon smart pots). I was thinking of getting the premium basalt rock dust from BAS (9lbs) but am curious how much better the microfine dust would be. Thanks!
IDK, on *my* own scale, granite meal comes in third behind basalt and glacial. It is also just under $0.05/lb compared to $0.81+ to $1+/lb for the others. I just can't see the cost/value being worth it. It's rock dust, not something like neem or kelp meals that do have a profound effect in the soil mix. So, I go with #3. IMO, it's a nice addition to a mix, but far from necessary. Wet
Yeah I'd still like to try and source rock dust locally but at the same time I figured I'm already getting a bunch of stuff from BAS I might just get the basalt dust for ease. Might call around to some gravel pits first, though. I don't mind spending the $10 for 9lbs of basalt dust but of course cheaper would be better! I'm just trying to get some better rock dust in my soil because all I've got is that Azomite at about ~1cup/cf and if I recall correctly you use(d) Azomite at that concentration plus granite meal at 2cups/cf?
Yes, that combo/ratio seems to be working well. Something I really liked was using greensand in conjunction with kelp. The Espoma greensand WAS ~$9/8lb bag. The local who carried it now seems to think double that price is realistic. LOL It's sitting on the shelves and I can wait till it comes back down to the previous high price. Wet
Ah yeah I've been meaning to source some greensand as well, especially to toss a little bit in my worm bin. I was going to use beach sand but I read it is not a good idea due to the salts contained within. How do you utilize the greensand in your soil? Do you know about the pros/cons of using that microfine rock dust vs regular rock dust? I would imagine the microfine dust would give more surface area for microbes?
No it is not...the list goes as follows and it's all about how these materials were formed. The ol' geology deal! LOL! Basalt Granite Glacial Rock Dust HTH
If granite was available from local sources which it isn't, I would do a 50/50 mix of basalt & granite. Unfortunately granite would have to be shipped in from the East Coast. Just for old shits and giggles - Remineralize the Earth - the leading repository of science, data and research about using rock dusts
I just finished using my #3 and have 20#s of #1 on the way. I had the #3 in my mix just not at the 4 cups level. I'm setting up new #15 and increased the RD amount in 3 of 8 with #3 but the remaining 5 will get the #1 treatment
Well I guess my rock dust is third best. lol. I do have 5/16" red lava rock as my aeration amendment so I am getting a little basalt as well.