Joel_BC
Super Self-Sufficient
I was at one of my favorite ag supply retailers, and was asking about volcanic-rock powders. There's a brand available in the US called Azomite, and there was a start-up company called Paramount Growth (in Canada) that supplied me with about 17 lbs of samples of their own product for free a couple years ago. I wrote up some of my very pleasing results using this at 10-15% in seed-starting mixes here.
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12028&p=1 .
In any case, Azomite is not as yet distributed in Canada, and the Canadian company has apparently had capital-investment problems in the dismal economy of the last few years - so I can't get this type of soil amendment. But at the ag supply, I was describing my experience and saying I wanted to get more volcanic rock powder. A young guy there said he's had seed-starting results that he thinks are similar to what I described - but using bentonite (a type of clay) as part of the starting mix. Not enough info to make me want to buy a bag just yet.
While I do keep an open mind to new ideas, I probably have eight times as many years of experience with raising crops organically as this young fella has. But mainly, I was slightly skeptical because I couldn't see his results - which would be in his home greenhouse & garden.
But I'm open-minded... Has anyone here either heard of or, better yet, tried using bentonite as part of a seedling start mix? If so, what can you tell me?
I've tried a Google search and came up without much.
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12028&p=1 .
In any case, Azomite is not as yet distributed in Canada, and the Canadian company has apparently had capital-investment problems in the dismal economy of the last few years - so I can't get this type of soil amendment. But at the ag supply, I was describing my experience and saying I wanted to get more volcanic rock powder. A young guy there said he's had seed-starting results that he thinks are similar to what I described - but using bentonite (a type of clay) as part of the starting mix. Not enough info to make me want to buy a bag just yet.
While I do keep an open mind to new ideas, I probably have eight times as many years of experience with raising crops organically as this young fella has. But mainly, I was slightly skeptical because I couldn't see his results - which would be in his home greenhouse & garden.
But I'm open-minded... Has anyone here either heard of or, better yet, tried using bentonite as part of a seedling start mix? If so, what can you tell me?
I've tried a Google search and came up without much.
