[DARC MIND]

Efficiency of K-feldspar Combined with Organic Materials and Silicate Dissolving Bacteria on Tomato Yield
pretty neat read on speeding up mineralization using microbial inoculants,nothing new to some but; focusing on k-minerals like glauconite(greensand) & silicate dissolving bacteria (SDB), Bacillus cereus and Trichoderma harzianum.

previous study confirmed that this bacterial strain produces several organic acids such as acetate, butyric, pyruvic, lactic and formic acid during their biological activates. It is well known that many organic compounds produced by microorganism, such as acetate, citrate and oxalate can increase mineral dissolution rates in laboratory experiments [15,25,31] and in the soil [32,20]. Carboxylic acid groups, which were shown to promote dissolution of silicate [33], are also common in extra cellular organic materials. Moreover, some microorganisms in soil environment contain enzymes that function in ways analogous to chitinase and celluloses, i.e. they specifically break down mineral structures and extract elements required for metabolism or structure purposes (e.g., mineralizes) [34].

Dark, thanks for the link! I've been thinking things through lately on the fact glauconite is used in some water filtration systems, and then back to its being a silicate. I know we use them interchangeably, and I blame coot to this for some extent trying to crush greensand as a "brand name" but there does seem to be the difference that jersey greensand contains calcium from aquatic fossils. Some glauconite sources don't contain this as far as I am aware.

[DARC MIND]

Originally Posted by Carlos Danger

Some glauconite sources don't contain this as far as I am aware.

from my understanding calcium is found in most rocks were water is or was abundant

i also don't think coot was trying to crush greensand as an legit amendment but may have not stressed enough that soil-less media is likely what gives rise to the claimed time frame said essentials will be cycled. i doubt potassium is all glauconite brings to table but compared to the preferred volcanic, glacial or even local metamorphic or igneous mineral make up..thers better coin spent

the article gave rise to local mineral rich alternatives & pointed out what re-mineralize the earth have been saying for years but with a little more details
https://remineralize.org/a-rock-dust-primer

from wiki
"Environment of formation
Normally, glauconite is considered a diagnostic mineral indicative of continental shelf marine depositional environments with slow rates of accumulation. For instance, it appears in Jurassic/lower Cretaceous deposits of greensand, so-called after the coloration caused by glauconite. It can also be found in sand or clay formations, or in impure limestones and in chalk. It develops as a consequence of diagenetic alteration of sedimentary deposits, bio-chemical reduction and subsequent mineralogical changes affecting iron-bearing micas such as biotite, and is also influenced by the decaying process of organic matter degraded by bacteria in marine animal shells. Glauconite forms under reducing conditions in sediments and such deposits are commonly found in nearshore sands, open oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, but not in the Black Sea nor in fresh-water lakes.
The wide distribution of these sandy deposits was first made known by naturalists on board the fifth HMS Challenger, in the expedition of 1872–1876.
Uses
Glauconite has long been used in Europe as a pigmentation agent for artistic oil paint, especially in Russian "icon paintings". It is also found as mineral pigment in wall paintings from the ancient Roman Gaul.[5] Glauconite, a major component of greensand, is also a common source of potassium in plant fertilizers."

I mean he just hated the term greensand instead of glauconite. . There's some difference between the two though, as your post notes "glauconite, a major component of greensand", it's not the calcium then. I need to deepen my understanding of minerals.

Fuck this five day requirement to get the edit button back. For many Americans greensand is the best cheaply available rock dust. For east coast Americans especially, there's no cheap source of basalt say. As for greensand bringing something other than K, some of the big plant guys here have been talking about using it for a long term silica source.

[DARC MIND]

Greensand is a term loosely applied to any glauconitic sediment

sedimentary rocks are formed by the deposits of sediments/eroded material, as in certain rocks

greensand is a naturally occurring mineral mined from ocean deposits from a sedimentary rock known as "Glauconite"

fwiw
many can get rock dust for free if you know how to source
https://remineralize.org/a-rock-dust-primer

I may be wrong here darc, but it is my limited understanding that all greensands contain glauconite, not all glauconite is in the form of greensand. Glauconite can also be found in clay or limestone, while greensand by definition is quartz based.

A few old ones:
Sir Albert Howard
-An Agricultural Testament
-The Waste Products of Agriculture (available on the gutenberg project I believe)
F. H. King
-Farmers of Forty Centuries (available in the soil and health library of Steve Solomon)

Not finished reading them, but they seem like important works. Hope they haven't been mentioned in this thread before, I don't remember seeing them.

[s13sr20det]

Originally Posted by Scrappy4

A good read on trying to establish Fungi in soil crops..........


https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archiv.../fungi0501.htm

Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.

After funding has been restored, please allow some time for this website to become available again.

frig off, washington!!

copy of this was dropped off at my work... cant wait to start

[Midgar06]

Perfect! Thanks to Spurr and everyone else for compiling this list. Really made me a more informed organic gardener.