|
Soil
Remineralisation
|
|||||||||
|
Why remineralise soil | Practical remineralisation | Mineral Content of food Sources of rock dust | Garden tour | Germination trial |
|||||||||
|
See details of the 2008 trial here
|
|||||||||
|
The reasons for the project (2004) I have always thought that growing organic vegetables produced healthy food from healthy soil. Traditionally this means taking care of the soil; the aim is to feed the soil and not the plant. I thought that was it, and I was doing all I could, but maybe there was something missing. The idea of soil lacking something important was brought home by a recent report that showed the level of minerals in fresh fruit and vegetables has decreased by 70% over the last 50 years. Minerals have disappeared from the soil thereby reducing the minerals in our diet. |
|||||||||
|
Why does soil need to be remineralised? To understand more about soil it is important to know about how it is made. After the last ice age around 10,000 years ago there were vast quantities of ground up rock produced by glaciers. When living things died they rotted down to make humus. This produced rich soils and plant life flourished. We are now at the end of an interglacial period and the rock dust in most soils has been used up. Some argue that modern farming techniques have hastened the depletion of minerals while others say it is an entirely natural process. The reason why rock dust has gone is not as important as how we can get minerals back into soil to correct the deficiencies. There
is also another characteristic of remineralisation that could have profound
effects. When the minerals are broken down into a form that they can be
used by plants, atmospheric carbon dioxide is locked up. Large scale remineralisation
has the potential to reduce CO |
|||||||||
|
As mentioned above a recent report shows that the mineral level in food has decreased by up to 70% over the last 50 year. The full report can be found at: www.organicgarden.org.uk/min_dep_report.pdf Extract Background
So began a programme of analysis which resulted, in 1940, with the publication of the Medical Research Council’s, Special Report No: 235, entitled “The Chemical Composition of Foods”. This report represented the culmination of a comprehensive research programme on the chemical composition of foods available to the British public. 1 ounce and 100 grams of different Vegetables, Fruits, Cereals, Meats, Seafoods, Beverages, Beers, Sugars, Preserves, Sweetmeats, Condiments, and Dairy Products were analysed for their organic and mineral content as well as portions of traditional British food recipes including Cakes, Pastries and Puddings. This, then, was the first determined effort by a number of dedicated Doctors and Food Scientists headed by McCance and Widdowson to establish definitives by which to quantitatively compare and contrast individual dietary intakes. This 1st Edition was subsequently updated by the Medical Research Council in 1946 and 1960 as new foods became available, analytical procedures improved and new information regarding constituents of food (e.g. vitamins/amino acids etc.) were considered as being needed. Over the next 30 years the need to continually update information resulted in the 4th and 5th Editions which were published in 1978 and 1991 respectively under the title of ‘The Composition of Foods’, this time under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food in conjunction with the Royal Society of Chemistry. On comparing and contrasting the 1940 figures with the 1991 figures quite a number of variables exist; enough in some instances such as cereals, to make comparisons meaningless. Equally there is a wealth of data available which provides very real insights to the change in food values over the 51 years between 1940 and 1991. The 1940 data often incorporates work published in 1929, 1933 and 1936, similarly the 5th Edition published in 1991 contains data that originates in 1987. For consistency I have used the published dates.
|
|||||||||
|
As the soil on the plot is very heavy clay which has not been worked for some years it was decided to make a new top soil. This has been achieved by mixing compost with rock dust (more later.) There are also beds that have received different treatments for comparison. There are 10 raised beds, each 4ft (1.2m) wide and 15ft (4.6m) long. Various soils and treatments have been used as follows: 1 bed with soil topped
with 1 inch (2.54cms) of compost, The filling depth ranges from 4-7 inches (10-18cms.) The same trial crops will be grown in each bed, in a small test area, to see if there is a difference in growth rates and plant health. The application rate of the rock dust to soil is 5lbs per square yard. |
|||||||||
|
Sources of Rock dust and sea minerals Sea minerals Ocean Grown UK LtdSuppliers of 'OceanSolution' - liquid sea minerals. A concentrated liquid comprising the 90+ elements and aerobic bacteria necessary for all plants to develop strong and healthy tissue. P.O. Box 3833 Tel: 01749 812652
SeaAgri Inc. Suppliers of 'SEA-90' OMRI Listed™ for use in Organic Production. Unrefined mined sea minerals - a 100% natural, water soluble, balanced blend of sea nutrients including trace elements. National Sales Director Tel: 770.361.7003
Rock Dust SEER Centre rock dust in 25kg bags can be obtained from the SEER Centre and: See alist of outlets at www.seercentre.org.uk/purchase.htm Pinetum Products
- 01452-750402 sell volcanic rock dust, check out their web site Mineral Solutions - www.mineralsolutions.co.uk/products.htm Have a source of rock dust but the minimum order is 1 tonne. |
|||||||||
| Links to other remineralisation sites | |||||||||
| www.seercentre.org.uk The SEER Centre in Scotland | |||||||||
| www.remineralize.org Remineralize the Earth (US) | |||||||||
| www.rosneath.com.au/ipc6/ch02/oldfield/ "Rock Dust Puts Out More Than You Think" | |||||||||
|
|
