In the many years of consulting I have done, all too often I find growers wasting money – or worse, messing up their soil and growing spaces – by amending and adding to their soil without testing. Let me say it again, the most important thing you do if you grow food is get your soil tested. Why a Garden Might Need Azomiteįirst and foremost, you don’t know if you need azomite unless you do the MOST important thing as a gardener or grower – get a soil test! Thus, it is hard to decide which is better, and even the certificates of analysis companies provide should be taken with a grain of salt (pun intended!).īut the makeup of the product is only one consideration of whether you should use it! There is another, even more important issue to consider first. Sometimes these differences are significant. Is it better than glacial rock? Some say yes and some say (and I think they are right) that is depends.ĭifferent rock formations and mineral deposits have different compositions.Īlso, given that many of these deposits are quite large, they often vary from one place to another. Volcanic rock has long been heralded for its rich mineral composition and beneficial impact on plants. Azomite is different because it is made from volcanic rock. Many soil amendment products on the market are made from crushed glacial rock. Good growers turn to tools like azomite to help get their soils back into proper shape. Three generations of improper farming since World War II and the misnamed “Green Revolution” has left many soils depleted of both major and trace elements and minerals that are crucial to their proper functioning. Here is where azomite and other soil amendments shine, often containing dozens of different elements. Plants make use of a wide range of elements and minerals and other compounds, as does the soil food web. So why do so many people swear by it? Simply put, plants need far more than just three macro-mineral elements to thrive (and so do you!). (2)Īzomite also contains only a small amount of calcium and magnesium, 1.8% and. Azomite contains no nitrogen, no phosphorus, and only a small bit of potassium. If the nutrients in azomite were represented this way, it would be 0-0-.2 The number itself refers to what percentage the product contains of each mineral. These numbers, usually referred to as NPK, represent the three most basic nutrients plants need to grow – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
They are separated with dashes like 2-2-4, or 10-10-10. Most commercial fertilizers list 3 numbers on the label. Thus, organic farmers use it and if you garden at home, you should consider using it too! Commercial Fertilizer vs AzomiteĪzomite differs considerably from run-of-the-mill fertilizers you would buy at Home Depot or a gardening store. This natural, unspoiled state means that azomite is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). It may also be helpful to humans as a mineral supplement in certain situations. (1) Mineral Contentīecause azomite is naturally loaded with 67 minerals in convenient, dirt-like form, it makes an excellent soil amendment. In more simple language, it is a special kind of mineral-rich rock dust that is mined in Utah from an ancient deposit created by a volcanic eruption that filled a small seabed. Technically speaking, azomite is hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate or HSCAS. Astera has to say.While many people have heard about azomite, few can actually describe what it is exactly. I'm not in anyone's camp - I'm just here with an open ear to listen to what Mr.
His book has quite a few positive reviews and one angry one from someone who seems to have a personal vendetta. It seems to me that you've taken the "everything in a bottle is snake oil" argument to a cynical extreme if writing a book is automatically suspect. The OP has been put through the wringer, and because he's written a book you're calling him a huckster? Come on Scrappy, that hardly seems fair. I hate to think how we seem from the point of view of anyone involved in horticulture/gardening looking into our world. I don't have time for battling non-organic growers, let alone fighting some forum-based civil war for the One True Organic Way among all the organic growers. I don't see Ebb&Flow or Coir growers wandering into Organics to tell us how we're doing it wrong. If people have their beliefs that's fine, but there's no need to come in and proclaim "heresy!". Other gardening forums have normal discussions between adults without it constantly being a battle of who is the Most Holy & Organic.
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