February
5
Tuesday Tools: Mineral Soil Amendments
Dinosaur dirt (Rich Earth), EcoSand, and Greensand mined from mineral deposits are just a few of the more unusual soil amendments out there. Lets start with dinosaur dirt, a 100% natural mineral soil conditioner whose official name is Rich Earth. Its called dinosaur dirt because it is 100% prehistoric humate. In other words, it is derived from plant matter that has been composting in the earth for 75 million years. This composted material is called humate and is mined from a humate mine located in Utah. Due to the dry desert conditions in the region, the minerals in this humate have been preserved. As such they provide 70 trace minerals to the soil when used as an amendment.
EcoSand is a product used primarily in turf management, crop management, and potting soils. Made from natural (be aware theres also a synthetic version) zeolite mined in the southwestern US. EcoSand is composed of hydrated aluminosilicate that provides structure to soils and improve the root zone and increase the water available to plants.
Greensand is another soil amendment that is 100% natural. Much of it is mined in New Jersey and is especially useful for loosening up clay soils. As a soil amendment it provides 22 trace minerals in addition to iron oxide, marine potash, and silica that will enhance the growth of your flowers and vegetables like tomatoes.
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