Minerals

[MissS]

Does anyone ammend their soil for mineral content. If so what have you used? Did you notice a difference and your observations.

[MissS]

My beds are filled mostly with composted cow manure and peatmoss. They also have a large quantity of leaves and straw worked in. There really isn't any natural soil in the beds. Under the box is a nice fertile clay which next year I would like to work some of it into the bedding soil. Last year I used Azomite with good results. This year I am going to try using some kelp meal and see how that works out for me.

[bower]

I pretty much think of the kelp as my major source of minerals, but TBH I also noticed that very small, trace amounts of clay that find their way into the compost seem to work a bit of magic, and reckoned that must be the minerals. Our clay is rich in iron and manganese, and wouldn't be described as fertile on its own that's for sure. But I think your plan of working a little clay into the soil might indeed be a source of useful minerals.

[GoDawgs]

I was reading this post and think adding a little clay might help mine too. It's pretty sandy soil but over time with the addition of leaves and used potting soil (not this year though!) it has gotten better. I sat here thinking about the clay that lives under the soil around here when it hit me that I have several pounds of powdered kaolin clay sitting in a bag down in the garden shed!

It was part of an experiment I did last year or the year before (time flies) when I wondered if a paste of clay painted it on squash stems would deter SVBs. I mentioned my idea to one of the gals who works at the feed and seed and it just so happened that her dad is a manager at one of the kaolin mines around here. She called me the next day and said she had a bag of it for me. Wow!

It was kind of a pain to apply and was immediately washed away that night by heavy rain. Heavy sigh... back to the drawing board. So it's been sitting on the shelf. But now I think I'll try applying some on beds as they get prepped for fall. It's a very fine pure white powder so it needs to be done on a windless day. I might as well as I can't think of anything else I can use it for.

BTW, some of the finest kaolin in the world comes from this area. It's used in making porcelain, used in the paper industry to make paper really white, white walls on tires and even in the making of Kaopectate! Then there's the famous Red Georgia Clay but as far as I know it's only good for filling holes and staining your clothes. LOL!