Now more than ever, water retention is critical. Every drop of fresh water counts. Asking people to replace their lawns and to stop washing their cars is a step in the right direction, but it’s not nearly enough to reverse the dire water shortages that are predicted globally over the next decade.

As scientists contemplate battling drought with technologies ranging from desalination to cloud seeding, there is another factor to consider: soil management.

Soil that is healthy and well-managed is able to retain moisture, whereas “dead” soil cannot. Worse, the rain that does fall on hard and compacted soil simply runs off. Not only is it wasteful, but it also washes potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals directly into our lakes and streams.

The Water-Holding Capacity of Basalt

Organic growers already know about rock dust’s ability to help with soil’s water retention. Yet not all rock dust is alike. Volcanic basalt is especially valued for its high water-holding capacity. That’s because basalt is an “extrusive” rock, i.e., a rock that is formed when liquid magma is extruded onto the earth’s surface through a volcano’s vents. Basalt cools very rapidly, leaving no time for large mineral crystals to form. This is important because the finer the minerals, the less coarse the soil—and the more water holding capacity it has.

(Compare this to granite, an “intrusive” rock that forms deep in the earth’s crust. Granite cools much slower than basalt, and thus forms larger mineral crystals.)

Incorporating Rock Dust into Soils

Given that the whole earth is made of rocks and minerals, it’s surprising to learn that most of the world’s soils are woefully deficient in rock minerals, caused by natural weathering as well as aggressive and non-sustainable farming practices.

Aside from a volcanic eruption (too violent) or massive glacial activity (too slow), the easiest way to replace missing minerals in the soil is to apply rock dust. And while almost any type of rock dust will improve the soil, volcanic basalt is the best for delivering a wide array of plant essential nutrients, including: calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn).

In addition to being rich in nutrients, basalt’s finer mineral composition makes it more susceptible to natural weathering. Water, ice, acids, salt, animals and temperature changes all contribute to the breakdown of basalt and the release of its mineral supply.

When everything is said and done, there isn’t much we can do (at least in the short-term) to change what comes out of the sky. But we CAN begin to change what’s under our feet—by advocating for better soil management practices, including all-natural methods like rock dust to help improve the physical structure and texture of our soils so they are better able to use every drop of precious water.

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Cascade Minerals is committed to the restoration and remineralization of our earth’s depleted soils. Our all-natural Remineralizing Soil Booster is made from massive basalt stones from Central Oregon’s legendary Cascade Mountains. Rocks are crushed to produce a finely milled, 100% natural product that is approved for organic production and releases the essential minerals and trace elements that plants and humans need to flourish.

For a more in depth article, check out Best Plants’ article on making and using compost.

The post Volcanic Basalt Can Help Improve Water Retention & Alleviate Plant Stress appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

It seems that instead of a sea of silence, the deepest parts of the earth are booming with sounds both man-made (e.g., shipping traffic) and natural (e.g., marine life and earthquakes).

Then there are the underwater volcanoes. OSU estimates that there are more than a million of these “submarine volcanoes” spread throughout the world’s oceans. Together they produce an estimated 75% of the annual output of magma worldwide.

Geology Meets Biology

Magma is a fluid mix of molten material that comes from deep within the earth. Made up of a broad spectrum of minerals and essential elements, magma becomes lava when it is ejected during a volcanic eruption. This lava cools and solidifies relatively quickly, turning into mineral-rich volcanic rock.

And while there are different types of volcanic rocks, basalt is the rock that underlies much of the Earth’s oceans. Regions of the world that are blessed with surface extrusions of basalt also have some of the most fertile soils.

Why? Because basalt is rich in iron, magnesium, and silica. Compared to volcanic rocks which are high in quartz, basalt weathers relatively quickly which means that it begins to release nutrients to plants as soon as the roots make contact. Over time, additional nutrients become available as rocks are pried apart by water, extreme temperatures, and hungry microbes that work together to release minerals into the soil and make them available to plants.

Rock Dust: Feeding Microbes

Surely, if the microbes that have inhabited the earth since the beginning of time could speak, they’d say “Feed Us. We’re Hungry!”

That’s because much of the modern world’s soil-sustaining rock material has been stripped away thanks in large part to aggressive agriculture practices (along with other sudden and extreme climate changes). Robbed of their nutrient-rich food source, microbes have less work to do and the soil suffers—as does human health and nutrition.

So what can be done (aside from Mother Nature releasing a series of violent volcanic eruptions)? One of the quickest, easiest, and safest ways of introducing minerals back into the soil is through the process of remineralization with rock dust. Not surprisingly, one of the best sources of rock dust is volcanic basalt.

Adding finely crushed volcanic basalt to the soil is as close as it gets to mimicking the Earth’s own natural methods for restoring minerals and other essential elements back to the soil. For further reading, we recommend “Soil Minerals and Microbes: A Partnership That Benefits Plants, People and Planet.”

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Cascade Minerals is committed to the restoration and remineralization of our earth’s depleted soils. Our all-natural Remineralizing Soil Booster is made from massive basalt stones from Central Oregon’s legendary Cascade Mountains. Rocks are crushed to produce a finely milled, 100% natural product that is approved for organic production and releases the essential minerals and trace elements that plants and humans need to flourish.

The post Secrets from the Deep: Volcanic Basalt’s Mineral Benefits Are Far-Reaching appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

Rock dust serves as food for the millions of beneficial microorganisms that feed on each other and help break down organic matter. More microbial activity means more heat, and more heat leads to faster and more efficient composting.

Rock dust isn’t just a great complement to compost, however. It is also highly effective in helping improve soil’s health and fertility when combined with biochar, a solid material rich in carbon that was used as a traditional soil amendment for thousands of years. Indeed, evidence of “terra preta,” or “black earth,” dating back to the Pre-Columbian era, is still visible in the Brazilian Amazon.

Like rock dust, biochar has seen a recent resurgence as more people become aware of sustainability methods from the past—and understand their role in our future. When used together, they help the remineralization process by ensuring that plants have a steady supply of essential minerals and nutrients.

It works like this: Rock dust weather slowly, releasing essential minerals and trace elements into the soil over time where they are readily accessible to plant roots when they need them. Biochar helps keep these important minerals from leaching away too quickly by acting like a sponge whose absorbent surfaces also provide a safe place where beneficial microbes multiply and thrive.

One of the most effective ways to use rock dust and biochar is to mix them into your compost. For more information and links to recent research involving rock dust and biochar, read “Biochar and Rock Dust for Nutrient Dense Food, Soil Fertility Restoration, and Carbon Sequestration” at Remineralize.org.

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When looking for a soil amendment made of volcanic basalt, look for a high-quality product that is listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic production. One product that meets this standard is Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster which is made entirely in the USA from all-natural volcanic basalt from Central Oregon.

The post How Rock Dust and Biochar Work Together to Remineralize Soils appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

One article, titled “Hungry Plants Guide the Ore Prospector (pp. 130-133),” begins like this:

“Flowers make a tireless search for valuable minerals, too. By following botanical signposts, one prospector found a fortune in gold through the stem of a horsetail weed.”

The hunger of plants for certain rock minerals is described as the secret behind geobotanical prospecting. In their search for the nutrients they need to grow, plants and trees send their roots to probe deep in the soil. Instead of carrying picks and pans, modern prospectors carry glass jars to collect leaf and stem specimens. By combining plant knowledge with a bit of common “horse sense,” they can then pinpoint areas of high mineral concentration.

In a way, experienced farmers are a bit like the ‘modern’ geobotanical prospectors profiled in the 1948 Popular Mechanics article. By analyzing the appearance and overall health of their crops, they can readily identify the presence—or rather, the lack of—essential minerals and trace elements necessary for healthy plant growth and optimal yields.

Of course, healthy crops require healthy soil. When rock material decomposes and reacts with soil microorganisms and plant material, it releases essential minerals and nutrients that are the keys to soil health. Unfortunately, most of our world’s agricultural soils have been depleted of rock minerals. One solution is soil remineralization with rock dust.

By mimicking the Earth’s own method for producing healthy soil, rock dust helps support the biological processes required for optimal and sustainable plant growth. We need only to observe the self-preserving behavior of plants as described in the article from 1948. Recent research supports the conclusion that plants aren’t nearly as passive as they seem. Given the opportunity, plants will actively seek to acquire nutrients from their surroundings to overcome any imbalances. Fine roots will attack rock particles as a physiological consequence of mineral deficiency.

In soil that is properly mineralized with rock dust, however, plants don’t have to work nearly as hard to survive.

So which rock dust is best? Across a variety of conditions, volcanic basalt has been proven to minimize deficiencies, improve root systems, and help grow stronger crops with higher yields and higher levels of nutrition. For a closer look at the benefits of basalt, read our previous blog post.

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When looking for a soil amendment made of volcanic basalt, look for a high-quality product that is listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic production. One product that meets this standard is Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster which is made entirely in the USA from all-natural volcanic basalt from Central Oregon.

The post On the Move: Hungry Plants Actively Seek Nutrients in Rock Minerals appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

At the most basic biological level, legumes attract soil-dwelling bacteria called rhizobia to their roots and ‘invite’ them inside the plant. Once inside, the bacteria begin to form nodules inside the host plant’s roots where they produce nitrogen compounds that help the plant grow and compete with other plants. In exchange, the plant provides the bacteria with the carbon that it needs to live and breed.

It may not be too far-fetched to say that legumes have evolved to farm themselves. After domesticating the wild bacteria, the legume plants let them back out to forage in the soil where they kill rival bacteria and fix nitrogen deficiencies. When they are done, the bacteria are allowed back into the plant where they are safe and well-fed.

As explained in this paper by molecular biologists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, there are still many unanswered questions when it comes to the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in helping improve worldwide crop yields.

But one thing is clear: Everything comes down to microbial activity in the soil.

Boost Microbial Activity With Rock Dust

One of the most effective ways to boost microbial activity in the soil is to add minerals—minerals that have been depleted from many of the world’s soils yet which can be readily introduced through remineralization with rock dust.

Soil remineralization with rock dust is the process of returning minerals to the soil by mimicking the Earth’s own natural methods. Instead of glaciers and volcanoes, however, remineralization is the process of adding finely crushed rocks to soil that has been depleted of minerals over the course of decades either through natural weathering or by over-farming. Silicate rocks like basalt, in particular, contain the broadest spectrum of minerals and trace elements that are essential to plant health and nutrition, including calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron.

What might you expect? Here’s one potential scenario:

• More minerals lead to more soil microbes.
• More soil microbes make it easier for legumes to turn wild soil bacteria into domesticated bacteria.
• More domesticated bacteria leads to more nitrogen fixing.
• More nitrogen fixing leads to increased crop yields without requiring more fertilizer.

Cascade Minerals is committed to the restoration and remineralization of our earth’s depleted soils. Our all-natural Remineralizing Soil Booster is made from massive basalt stones from Central Oregon’s legendary Cascade Mountains. Rocks are crushed to produce a finely milled, 100% natural product that is approved for organic production and releases the essential minerals and trace elements that plants and humans need to flourish.

The post Nature’s Fertilizer: Boost Soil Microbial Activity & Increase Crop Yields With Rock Dust appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

The cold weather doesn’t slow them down. In fact, research shows that microorganisms continue to grow in frozen soil, often at rates equal to those during the summer. Scientists have even found active soil bacteria living at temperatures 39 degrees below zero.

When it’s not frozen solid, healthy soil is soft and crumbly. It is darker in color and easy to dig into. It has a sweet and earthy aroma. It looks, smells and feels alive.

If you took a sample of soil from your garden and looked at it under the microscope, hopefully you would see billions of microorganisms hard at work. Healthy soil should be teeming with these busy biological “workers” whose main task is to break down organic material and make nutrients available for plants to absorb.

Unfortunately, many soils around the world are in serious trouble. They’ve been depleted for a variety of reasons that range from natural conditions to over-farming and/or the application of synthetic fertilizers.

The good news is that more people understand that healthy soil is the key to our future. Quick-and-dirty chemical fertilizers give plants a quick hit of nutrients, but they don’t do anything to improve the long-term health of the soil. Eventually, this leads to a breakdown of soil structure resulting in weaker plants, increased risk of disease and, ultimately, soil infertility.

So, while the snow continues to pile up outdoors, why not start planning for spring by resolving to give your garden a healthy boost with all-natural Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster? Made of pure volcanic basalt, Cascade Minerals mimics the Earth’s own method for producing healthy soil rich in essential minerals and helps kick-start the biological processes required for optimal and sustainable plant growth.

Your winter (and spring, summer and fall) soil will thank you!

The post Healthy Soil is Alive All Year Long; Give it a Boost With Rock Dust appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

It’s mid-December, but the Christmas season has been well underway for several weeks already here in Oregon. With about 530 licensed growers, our state is the #1 producer of Christmas trees with tree farmers expecting to harvest and sell just over 7 million trees in 2015. Here in the U.S., almost 1 out of every 4 Christmas trees in homes will be from Oregon.

The rest of Oregon’s Christmas trees (nearly half of which are Doug firs) will be exported to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. (Fun fact: The largest international market is Mexico which takes about 1 million, or 12%, of Oregon’s trees.) Before the trees can cross any borders, however, they must be inspected by the Oregon Department of Agriculture to make sure that they are free of pests and disease. Thanks to tight quality controls, Oregon’s Christmas trees are recognized worldwide for their top-notch quality.

Inspectors begin their work in the late summer and the early fall when they look for signs of potential problems, including insects, foliar diseases, root rot, and needle loss. This year’s hot and dry summer was stressful for trees, especially younger ones whose root systems are not yet fully developed (and thus have less capacity to retain water).

Fortunately, the 2015 tree harvest has been decent with fall rains coming just in time to give mature trees some much needed hydration. And while it is hard to predict what future weather patterns will be like (or what consumer preferences will be), Christmas tree farmers in Oregon continue to stay on the cutting edge by practicing good soil management and experimenting with new tree varieties.

Sources: Oregon Department of Agriculture and Pacific Northwest Tree Growers Association

Good Soil Management with Rock Dust

Christmas trees—like all commercial crops—benefit from good soil management practices. One of those soil management practices is remineralization with rock dust. Not all rock dust is alike, however. Volcanic basalt stands out for the following reasons:

Restores essential minerals to the soil. Basalt is rich in essential micronutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese. It continues to deliver a steady flow of nutrients over time, even as it decomposes. The slow-release benefits of crushed volcanic basalt make it an effective way to minimize deficiencies, particularly with fast-growing commercial crops that experience periods of rapid nutrient uptake.

Boosts crops’ resistance to pests and disease. Basalt contains soluble silicon which contributes to the strength of cell walls and makes agricultural crops more resistant to pests and disease. Not only does silicon make it easier for plants to ward off plant-eating insects, but it also improves plant resistance to leaf and foliar diseases and makes them stronger in the battle against environmental and climate stress.

Improves soil porosity and helps plants conserve water. One of the best defenses that plants have in drought-like conditions is the ability to grow deep roots, i.e., roots that can penetrate deep into the soil to access water and other nutrients. To do so, they need rich, porous soil. Basalt acts as the fuel that feeds the beneficial microbes that improve the structure of the soil and give thirsty plant roots a chance to stretch.

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Information for Growers: When applying a soil amendment made of volcanic basalt, look for a high-quality product that is listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic production. One product that meets this criteria is Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster which is made entirely in the USA from all-natural volcanic basalt from Central Oregon and which has been approved by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The post Oregon Christmas Trees Shine During the Holidays appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

The Master Gardeners began with plants propagated in the correctional facility’s greenhouse in mid-March. The test had a total of nine individual plants which were divided into three groups:

Group 1: Three plants were placed as starts into non-improved potting soil in a four-inch planter.

Group 2: Three plants were placed from starts into sifted soil that was improved with the commonly known commercial product, Miracle-Gro^TM.

Group 3: The last three plants were placed from starts into sifted soil mixed with all-natural Cascade Remineralizing Soil Booster (as well as Miracle-Gro^TM).

The plants were watered regularly and received daily and weekly monitoring for common bug infestations. Each plant, as it grew, was trimmed according to the desired shape of the growing plant. The trimming of these plants consisted of the removal of unwanted leafing, seedpods, and damage from natural events such as insects and temporary indoor/outdoor shock. After 6 weeks, the plants were transplanted by hand into larger, one gallon sized pots.

The results, as observed by the Master Gardener participants and as evidenced by the accompanying photograph, were as follows:

Group 1: Plants grew at a normal rate yet did not get as full as the plants in the other two groups.

Group 2: The plants that were given the commercial additive (i.e., Miracle-Gro^TM) showed to have a fuller appearance than those grown with no additives at all (although the margin of additional height gained was relatively small). The color of the plants in this group was more vibrant than those in the first group, i.e., those in simple potting soil.

Group 3: The plants in this group were substantially fuller and had additional overall height. They also showed brighter, more vibrant coloring. Participants in the Master Gardener Program attribute this to the “natural minerals and elements found in the organic soil booster provided by Cascade Minerals.”

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Central Oregon Basalt Products mills massive stones from Central Oregon’s legendary Cascade Mountains to produce the highest quality volcanic basalt powder available. Because Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster is not a fertilizer and contains no synthetic chemicals or man-made additives, it is safe to use around your plants, children and pets when used as directed.

The post Master Gardeners Put Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster to the Test appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

This helps explain why people throughout civilization have been willing to settle near active and potentially dangerous volcanoes. (Millions of people live in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius which has erupted more than 50 times and killed thousands of people since the eruption in 79 A.D. that buried Pompeii. Why? The surrounding soil is amazingly rich and fertile.)

In parts of the world where the soil has been rendered lifeless and depleted, remineralization with rock dust is an effective and organic means of adding back essential nutrients.  And while the practice of remineralization is nothing new, the terminology is always changing (“rock dust” is the term that seems to have replaced “rock flour,” “stone dust,” “stone meal,” and other variations thereof).

Indeed, Dr. Julius Hensel wrote eloquently about the benefits of stone meal in his book Bread From Stones which was translated from the German back in 1894. In his introduction to the book, Dr. Raymond Bernard describes the proven results of Hensel’s methods which include using mineral-rich stone meal and abstaining from the usage of animal manure to fertilize crops. They are as follows:

• That stone meal creates healthier, tastier, more vitaminized and mineralized foods.
• That stone meal creates immunity to insect infestation, worms, fungi and plant diseases of all kinds.
• That stone meal improves the keeping and shipping quality of foods, so that they keep a long time, in contrast to the rapid deterioration of foods given abundant animal manure.
• That stone meal helps plants to resist drought and frost, enabling them to survive when those fed on manure and chemicals perish.
• That stone meal produces larger crops which are more profitable because the farmer is saved the expense of buying chemical fertilizers which are rapidly leached from the soil by rainfall, whereas stone meal, being less soluble, is gradually released during the course of years and remain in the soil, being the most economical of fertilizers.
• That foods raised with stone meal are better for human health and the prevention of disease than those grown with chemicals or animal manure.
• That use of stone meal, in place of chemical or animal fertilizers, helps to end the spraying menace (by removing its cause) and is proven by the fact that plants and trees grown with stone meal are immune to pests and so require no spraying.

More than a century after he wrote his book, Hensel’s ideas are as important as ever. Plants require healthy, life sustaining food to flourish, just as humans do. Today, stone meal, or rock dust, is used to grow a multitude of crops and is an essential ingredient in a variety of applications—from potting mixes to compost heaps, worm bins and foliar sprays. One of the best sources is volcanic basalt which is the sole ingredient in all-natural Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster. Applying our finely ground basalt is like applying a fresh deposit of natural soil minerals. The product readily begins to release nutrients to plants as soon as the roots make contact and additional nutrients become available with ongoing weathering. The result is a steady flow of nutrients over time leading to stronger, more vigorous plants and healthier crops.

“The goal aimed at, satisfying the hungry, and of preventing numerous maladies by restoring the natural condition for wholesome plant growth, seems to me one of the highest and most noble.” – Dr. Julius Hensel

The post Bread From Stones: Restoring the Natural Condition With Rock Dust appeared first on Cascade Minerals.

Sigh. The news can’t be all bad, can it?

Fortunately, not everything is dire. By declaring 2015 as The International Year of the Soil, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has made more people aware of the current state of our world’s soils. It’s not too late to begin reversing what it’s only taken mankind a few decades to destroy.

In fact, one of the tools already at our disposal is soil remineralization with rock dust. Soil remineralization is the process of returning minerals to the soil by mimicking the Earth’s own natural methods. Instead of glaciers and volcanoes, however, remineralization is the process of adding finely crushed rocks to soil that has been depleted of minerals over the course of decades either through natural weathering or by over-farming.

Silicate rocks like basalt, in particular, contain the broadest spectrum of minerals and trace elements that are essential to plant health and nutrition. (Read more in an earlier blog post: “Rock Dust Made of Volcanic Basalt Delivers a Diversity of Minerals.”)

The benefits of remineralization with rock dust are well documented. Here are just a few positive proof points:

• “Soil remineralization has been shown in scientific studies to achieve fourfold increases in agricultural and forestry (wood volume) yields and to produce both immediate and long-term benefits from a single application.” (Source: Remineralize.org)
• One of the most comprehensive studies of the benefits of volcanic basalt dates back decades and came from D. Hotman de Villiers who conducted a series of long-term field trials on highly degraded soil that led to increased sugarcane yields on the island of Mauritius.
• In deforested cattle land in Costa Rica, Jatrophra trees that received rock dust produced larger and more abundant seeds and grew more vigorously than trees that did not. (Source: Remineralize.org)
• The country of Brazil has gone as far as to enact legislation that includes soil remineralization as part of its agricultural policy.

Remineralization with mineral-rich rock dust is key to the revitalization of our biologic ecosystems and it is encouraging to see these initiatives taking place. And remember—no change is too small. Begin by remineralizing the soil in your backyard and help raise global awareness of Earth’s “living skin.”

The post Soil Remineralization: Revitalizing Essential Ecosystems with Rock Dust appeared first on Cascade Minerals.