Volcanic Rock Dust Revitalizes Barren Soil

[JohnyCanuck]

A Scottish couple who believe volcanic rock dust can revitalise barren soil and reverse climate change have won research funding from the Scottish Executive.

Over a 20-year period, Cameron and Moira Thomson, both former teachers, have converted six acres of exposed, infertile land in the foothills of the Grampian mountains near Pitlochry into a modern Garden of Eden, using little more than the unwanted by-product from a nearby quarry. The application of rock dust mixed with municipal compost has created rich, deep soils capable of producing cabbages the size of footballs, onions bigger than coconuts and gooseberries as large as plums.

Before the pair began their experiment, erosion and leaching were so severe that nothing had been grown in the glen for almost 50 years.

The basis of the Thomsons' theory is simple - adding the dust mimics glacial cycles which naturally fertilise the land. Since the last ice age three million years ago the earth has gone through 25 similar glaciations, each lasting about 90,000 years. We are currently 10,000 years into an interglacial - a hiatus between ice ages - meaning modern soils are relatively barren and artificial fertilisers are needed.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=489728

[bahrbearian]

1. Is municipal compost the same as Night Soil ,as justed by

Chinese ? For 5,000 + Years ?

[JohnyCanuck]

2. I think it's just table scraps etc.

Some towns and cities have been experimenting with having householders sort their garbage into wet and and dry streams. The wet streams are the usual things you would normally put into a home compost pile like fruit peelings, egg shells, stale bread etc. The "wet" garbage is collected by the garbage collection system and taken to a municipal composting facility where it is treated and processed and turned into garden compost. This is different from the sewage treatment product which some municipalities try to sell to farmers as fertilizer, which would be closer to the Night Soil you mentioned.

[hatrack]

3. I've head that some people also swear by glacial rock dust

Does anyone have data on whether the stuff really does improve soil fertility?