Those of you growing, or thinking of starting a garden might want to look into an inexpensive product called Azomite (
http://azomite.com/ ). But only if you're interested in replacing the many minerals and trace elements lost over the years in the soil... healthy soil contains some 50-60. Not just N-P-K. And if you're interested in pest resistant crops... increased yields... don't bother. You can forget about applying fertilizer or pesticides... and if you're into growing organic, perfect! This is the ideal adjunct. Soil without humus is half alive, and without bacterial action, humus is dead. The reason the bacteria in the soil fail to function properly is because of the lack of natural trace elements and catalysts.
Already in the late 19th century a German chemist named Julius Hensel was proclaiming that all that is needed for healthy soil is the elegant solution of applying ground up rock dust (containing a broad spectrum of minerals), and that chemical treatment with NPK was actually damaging to the soil.
Unfortunately I can't really speak from first hand knowledge about this stuff yet because I'm an apartment dweller and have had only very limited use with it in trays on the window-sill. I do have a 20kg bag sitting here though. I came across this product in an interesting book called 'Secrets of the Soil' by Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins.
Here's a clickable thumbnail showing some remarkable results with the stuff:
Oh, and you can add it to livestock feed too. If you want more wool from your sheep, healthier eggs from your hens, healthier beef and milk from your cattle, etc. Animals also have a strong preference for pasture grown from Azomite. From page 217 of the book:
"Cows, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, turkeys, all preferred Azomite-treated hay. I've had animals walk right through belly-deep lush-looking pasture not treated with Azomite to get to that which was, and then eat off it until you'd swear there was nothing left to chew on. Failing to get an adequate supply of any one trace element, animals have difficulty breeding, calves are small, litters of pigs are weak. Beef cattle fail to make the best use of their feed. Dairy cows produce less milk; sheep have thinner fleece."
If there's any interest I might be able to scan the relevant chapter(s) for anyone wanting to read a bit more. Or you could buy the book although it isn't the easiest to find. I can see why chemical companies wouldn't want information contained in this book to be widely available.
Where to get some:
http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/azomite.htm
I see they have free shipping in the US for the 44lb bag (lucky buggers... I ordered from their Canadian site and had to pay through the nose for the shipping).
