Lava rock in soil
- Thread starter shiggs
- Start date
why do you think plants grow like crazy on the Hawaiian islands? lavarock is what the whole island is based on. i would crush it up to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch bits.
the only thing id be doubtfull on is the source of the lavarock. i bet the stuff at homedepot sucks ass compared to the real shit.
the only thing id be doubtfull on is the source of the lavarock. i bet the stuff at homedepot sucks ass compared to the real shit.
M
medical_shed
It's called RockDust in the UK, tenner a bag. Is good shit. Works very well in conjunction with Mycrozhial fungi.
I can't remember the name of the US version but will have a look.
Will be even better if free but I'd worry about pests being brought into growroom.
I can't remember the name of the US version but will have a look.
Will be even better if free but I'd worry about pests being brought into growroom.
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Lava rock crops up quite often in enquiries.
Here's the deal. Lava rock is NOT INERT until it has sat in the weather for 12 months or so.
Sometimes you buy it, and there's no problem, other times it'll put your pH up so fast you'll kill plants with it. To test it, settle some water 24 hours then get the pH of the water, put lava rocks in the water and leave it 24 hours then check pH again.
Lava rock, scoria, is of igneous origin - it's volcanic. The presense of this in your soil will help increase the sugar content in your plants. Sugar doesn't freeze. Plants with a higher sugar content are more frost and cold tolerant.
Lava rock degasses sulfur and nitrogen via an anaerobic interface that develops in the microherd on the rocks themselves. This is entirely normal, and desirable. Nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and other gases are (partly) the result of their base compounds coming into contact with air. These oxidised compounds are extremely volatile. Lava rock houses bacteria that utilise gas particles, minimising damage and turning them into organically available forms of nutrient.
Lava rock dust works great in the garden. It provides housing for specialist bacterial populations and is a source of many micro-nutrients.
Pumice (another volcanic rock, natures perlite, very light), produces phosphate via certain bacteria. It interests me greatly what the micro-herd can produce from scoria - aka lava rock.
Don't overdo it, small changes are always best when it comes to microherding. Add a bit and see how it goes. I put dust from aquaponic projects (clean the rocks before use) in the compost and it makes it's way into the garden from there.
Here's the deal. Lava rock is NOT INERT until it has sat in the weather for 12 months or so.
Sometimes you buy it, and there's no problem, other times it'll put your pH up so fast you'll kill plants with it. To test it, settle some water 24 hours then get the pH of the water, put lava rocks in the water and leave it 24 hours then check pH again.
Lava rock, scoria, is of igneous origin - it's volcanic. The presense of this in your soil will help increase the sugar content in your plants. Sugar doesn't freeze. Plants with a higher sugar content are more frost and cold tolerant.
Lava rock degasses sulfur and nitrogen via an anaerobic interface that develops in the microherd on the rocks themselves. This is entirely normal, and desirable. Nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and other gases are (partly) the result of their base compounds coming into contact with air. These oxidised compounds are extremely volatile. Lava rock houses bacteria that utilise gas particles, minimising damage and turning them into organically available forms of nutrient.
Lava rock dust works great in the garden. It provides housing for specialist bacterial populations and is a source of many micro-nutrients.
Pumice (another volcanic rock, natures perlite, very light), produces phosphate via certain bacteria. It interests me greatly what the micro-herd can produce from scoria - aka lava rock.
Don't overdo it, small changes are always best when it comes to microherding. Add a bit and see how it goes. I put dust from aquaponic projects (clean the rocks before use) in the compost and it makes it's way into the garden from there.
there is a little process called sterilization. it can be done many different ways. for things like lava rock its EASY to do and theres nothing in there you want to keep other than the small spaces and the rock itself. unless the lavarock already started to decompose and turn into soil. but most of the stuff is old and dry as hell with no life.
fista, damn dont know where i would get lavarock thats less than 12 months old haha( no active volcanoes around here thankfully). the place where i got some when i did was hundreds if not thousands of years old. i found one chunk that is a bowl shape( about 4 inches diameter), im going to plant a bonsai tree in it
shiggs
Member
I found an old bbg pit with rocks in the bottom of it and I was planning on crushing those up to replace the pearlite in my composted soil mix. Im pretty confident that its clean, but just to be sure I'll give it a good steaming.
Sounds like I have an experiment on my hands.
Since I found the organic forum, I've seen the light and hope that organic growing pays off in the long run with a superior end product. Why do I need chemicals, when I can just throw some bird poo on it and do the same thing.
Now that's the right way to do things.
Sounds like I have an experiment on my hands.
Since I found the organic forum, I've seen the light and hope that organic growing pays off in the long run with a superior end product. Why do I need chemicals, when I can just throw some bird poo on it and do the same thing.
Now that's the right way to do things.
I just bought a bunch of Gardner&Bloome pumice, because perlite is hard to come by in my area this time of year. I'm about to mix up some LC#1 with it. Before I do, would that brand be considered good quality or would it need sterilization first? If so, are you talking about boiling it, Jay?
R
Relik
Hi folks, I've gathered lava rocks from the beach here, needless to say they were full of salt, so what I did was rinse (boil) them real well in a steam cooker, changing the water every 15-20mn, for a total of about an hour and a half. To be sure it does not contain any more salt, I simply taste the water (not a full glass, just dipping my lips in it), it may sound disgusting but I also do it when rinsing seaweed! Boiling the rocks also kills any potential pest/disease that might have been present on them.
Then I use the finest rocks in my soil mix, while the biggest chunks go to the bottom of pots for drainage. Never had any problem with lava rocks, as my friend JK said they retain air, water and microbes, what else could you ask for?
Peace
Then I use the finest rocks in my soil mix, while the biggest chunks go to the bottom of pots for drainage. Never had any problem with lava rocks, as my friend JK said they retain air, water and microbes, what else could you ask for?
Peace
I use pumice a lot. Love the stuff. Should be no problems with it. Boiling it is hard as it floats but a lid and steam will deal with the bits on top. I've never had difficulties associated with pumice and my buddy who owns a pumice quarry claims it is 'practically' inert.
Some bits on pumice
"leaching experiments with volcanic ashes have been performed that show that pumice acts as a cation-exchanger"
"Pumice is commonly defined as an inert material with neutral pH, low salt content and the inability to contribute much to plant nutrition. However, some pumices can release small amounts of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Not all pumice is the same. Pumice deposits from different parts of the world have different physical and chemical properties."
A wee bit of an overview of soil amendments of this type...
"Pumice and scoria are mined raw materials that are graded to a specified particle size; whereas, perlite and vermiculite are mined and processed materials.
Perlite is a glassy alumino-silicate mineral of volcanic origin. The raw material is crushed and exposed to high temperatures (1,600 °F), which results in expanded, white, lightweight particles. During the heating process, perlite is expanded from four to 20 times its original volume. Perlite does not compress and consequently promotes good porosity and drainage. Because of local availability of pumice in the Northwest, it has replaced perlite in most commercial mixes.
Vermiculite is a silicate mineral containing aluminum, iron and manganese. It is a type of clay and contains a series of thin, parallel plates. The raw material is subjected to intense heat (up to 1,832 °F), which expands the vermiculite particles and gives them an accordion-like structure. Vermiculite increases the water-holding capacity of container substrates. It also has cation exchange capacity and slowly releases potassium and magnesium for plant uptake."
And last, but definately not least...
"The pumice mixtures tested were 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 (v/v) ratio (particle sizes 0-5 mm and 5-8 mm) respectively comparing with perlite to improve the airspace and easily available water as well as total porosity and water buffering capacity. The results showed that increasing the percentage of pumice 5 – 8 mm led to decrease the bulk density, easily available water and water buffering capacity, on the other hand increased the pore space volume % and air space volume %. There were no significant differences were obtained among the treatments regarding number of leaves, stem diameter, plant height, total leaves area, early and total yield and number of fruit per plant."
Some bits on pumice
"leaching experiments with volcanic ashes have been performed that show that pumice acts as a cation-exchanger"
"Pumice is commonly defined as an inert material with neutral pH, low salt content and the inability to contribute much to plant nutrition. However, some pumices can release small amounts of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Not all pumice is the same. Pumice deposits from different parts of the world have different physical and chemical properties."
A wee bit of an overview of soil amendments of this type...
"Pumice and scoria are mined raw materials that are graded to a specified particle size; whereas, perlite and vermiculite are mined and processed materials.
Perlite is a glassy alumino-silicate mineral of volcanic origin. The raw material is crushed and exposed to high temperatures (1,600 °F), which results in expanded, white, lightweight particles. During the heating process, perlite is expanded from four to 20 times its original volume. Perlite does not compress and consequently promotes good porosity and drainage. Because of local availability of pumice in the Northwest, it has replaced perlite in most commercial mixes.
Vermiculite is a silicate mineral containing aluminum, iron and manganese. It is a type of clay and contains a series of thin, parallel plates. The raw material is subjected to intense heat (up to 1,832 °F), which expands the vermiculite particles and gives them an accordion-like structure. Vermiculite increases the water-holding capacity of container substrates. It also has cation exchange capacity and slowly releases potassium and magnesium for plant uptake."
And last, but definately not least...
"The pumice mixtures tested were 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 (v/v) ratio (particle sizes 0-5 mm and 5-8 mm) respectively comparing with perlite to improve the airspace and easily available water as well as total porosity and water buffering capacity. The results showed that increasing the percentage of pumice 5 – 8 mm led to decrease the bulk density, easily available water and water buffering capacity, on the other hand increased the pore space volume % and air space volume %. There were no significant differences were obtained among the treatments regarding number of leaves, stem diameter, plant height, total leaves area, early and total yield and number of fruit per plant."
