Cascade Minerals’ own Chuck Canham will be giving a special presentation about the benefits of soil remineralization as part of the “Forever Fuchsias” celebration at Lakewold Gardens in Lakewold, Washington during the first weekend of September. (Chuck will speak to visitors at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 6, 2014; additional event details can be found…
We’re always conducting tests on a wide variety of plants to demonstrate the overwhelmingly positive benefits of soil remineralization on plant health and crop yields. This year, our test greenhouse in Madras, Oregon is filled with lots and lots of lovely leeks. What we’ve found is that plants that were planted in mineral-rich soil that had been…
Ground up rock material doesn’t usually appear on lists of compostable materials such as “greens” (e.g., grass clippings, hedge trimmings) and “browns” (e.g., fall leaves, wood chips), but volcanic rock dust is a sure-fire way to charge up the composting process. In this YouTube video, agronomist Rich Affeldt explains how to add mineral-rich volcanic rock…
The numbers on food waste are staggering. According to a 2012 report published by the National Resources Defense Council: 40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten – that’s over 20 pounds of food per person per month The average American consumer wastes 10x times as much food as someone in SE Asia The economic…
Colorful hanging baskets that bloom all season long are a hummingbird’s best friend—and an eye-catching addition to any garden. So why would you want to fill your light and airy hanging baskets with a dark and gritty material like volcanic basalt? As a byproduct of violent volcanic activity, basalt is not something that gardeners (or…
A summer heat wave has hit Portland, Oregon. Here in The City of Roses, we don’t get that many days in the mid-80’s much less a whole week of temperatures in the mid- to upper-90’s. Needless to say, people—and plants—are drooping just a bit. While it’s true that roses aren’t as fussy as most people…
So what’s all the fuss about rock dust? Rock dust goes by a few other names, like “rock minerals,” “rock flour,” “rock powder,” “stone dust,” “soil remineralizer” and “mineral fines.” Whatever you call it, rock dust is finely crushed rock containing essential micronutrients and trace elements that are important to the life cycle of plants…
The 6th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture was just held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “Growing More, More Efficiently” was a theme of this year’s conference. One of the keynote speakers was Dr. David Montgomery, author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations and a professor at the University of Washington. In his book, Dr. Montgomery says “we…
What’s the one magic ingredient for growing strong and healthy plants? Hint: There isn’t just one. There is no single ingredient for growing plants that meet their full genetic potential, just as there is no magic pill for losing weight. Instead, it takes a balance of macronutrients and micronutrients to ensure more colorful plants, more…
National Pollinator Week is a week in June where we celebrate the bees, birds, butterflies, bats, moths, flies and beetles that keep an ecosystem healthy and which support much of our wildlife and watersheds. Here are some amazing facts, courtesy of the Pollinator Partnership: Between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need…
