SFG plants and azomite

My plants seem to be growing faster and better color after adding azomite in the soil mix and at planting time.They are in various stages due to wife learning how to plant seedling. translation-"not to deep."

cool! we added azomite too. Haven't really noticed a big change (although the garden is rockin'!!), but from what I understand, it adds minerals to the veggies, which give US more minerals when we eat  Thanks for the pics!! Lookin' good!!

your garden looks great! 

Love seeing others gardens!!

happy gardening
rose

VERY nice, Has55!

Five beautiful boxes!

I should have put these update out about 3-4 days ago, but life got in the way. I'm impressed with the azomite. I also foliar sprayed once with garrent juice.   

I'm glad you are impressed with the azomite. 

Have you ever just done the garden with the Mel's mix? How were your results without adding anything extra?

Hi CampRN, Yes I have. Mel mix is what I learned and started with from his wonderful book, gloriaG , John Koller and the SFG forum. I started a thread last year expressing the problems I had with it in the hot texas climate. It did great in the spring, but poorly in the summer. Great mix, but it still needs time to get good soil life to increase it  water holding power which is were the earth worms, compost coir to create more humus and water holding capacity. my soil was extremely hot in the summer. several people responded with how they were addressing this problem in arizona and california, such as mulch, chips, shade cloth and the above. this lead to several off shoot threads.  In other area of the US peat moss work great, but not in my area. it too hydrophobic and required the water to be around a while to be absorb, which doesn't work in texas at our greater than 100-110 temps. I"m spending this year developing faster humus building ideas that will create stronger, more nutritious plants, instead of waiting a few years for it to change, 
Sooooooo, I watching, listening to the family ideas and gleaning what works well, cheaply and faster and applying in my ongoing experiments. I started with one bed and have gradually expanded to 8 4 X 4 and  approx (3) 4 x 16 over the years. I was on other forum reading, but finally decided to join this one to speak and find answer. Of course to show results of the garden with like minded friends.

CampRN are you a nurse? I been meaning to ask you because of the RN in your  name.

has55 wrote:CampRN are you a nurse? I been meaning to ask you because of the RN in your  name.

Hey, Thanks for reminding me of the challenges you were facing last year. Your garden is indeed looking well. And yes, I am a RN.  

camprn wrote:

has55 wrote:CampRN are you a nurse? I been meaning to ask you because of the RN in your  name.

Hey, Thanks for reminding me of the challenges you were facing last year. Your garden is indeed looking well. And yes, I am a RN.  

Me too. so I go from psych nursing to Garden Nurse ( Able to jump the tallest carrot ) to figure out the mind of the earthworms and it friends and the quiet voice of garden plants.

I never thought much about trace mineral even when I was an organic farmer in the 90's when Texas started their organic certification program. But over the years I finally felt push to try it. Last year was the first time, but my timing was all off, basically at the end of the plant life and I had my heat and water woes. This year, i applied the azomite ( A-Z trace minirals) to my SFG plants at planting time and i'm seeing an significant visual difference. I planted tomatoes about 2 weeks ago. One has a medium fruit now and the other has a mid medium and 2 small fruit. 

Maybe someone can answer this ? How much azomite per 4 by 4 box ?

madriver50 wrote:Maybe someone can answer this ? How much azomite per 4 by 4 box ?

Mel does not recommend amendments in the SFG, they are just not necessary. Using a variety of quality composts should give all the fertility the mix and your plants need.

If you must  use amendments because your plants are showing signs of nutrient deficiency,  please read and follow all label instructions of the product you are using.

At a dealer website this was posted.           A 4 X 4 BED IS 16 SQ FT.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE:
Add 1 Tbsp per gallon container. Spread 1 to 2 lbs per 10 square feet and spade into garden soil.
Add to compost or fertilizers and spread up to 500 lbs per acre and lightly disc or apply in row where planting.
Note: This product is derived from a natural volcanic ash deposit mined in Utah.
I put in my transplant holes and mixed the soil, water and place the plant inside. For my juicing greens  i applied to the surface and mixed it into the beds before planting my seeds. I had poured the azomite into containers (powder and granules ) and threw the bag away, so I couldn't go out side to the shed to read instructions.
FAQ l ink from their website-azomite FAQ
also look at the tomatoes and lettuce response. My greens seem to reflect their results.

youtube video from john koller on azomite- Azomite Granular vs Micronized Rock Dust

Interesting comment-what is the Law Of Minimum?
The "father of fertilizer", Justus von Liebig, developed the "Law of the Minimum" which is important in understanding what AZOMITE® does. The Law states that plant growth is determined by the scarcest "limiting" nutrient; if even one of the many required nutrients is deficient, the plant will not grow and produce at its optimum. Conventional fertilizer programs focus on the macronutrients like Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). However, if one of the many essential trace elements is deficient in the soil, the plant will not perform at its optimum, affecting yield and immune function

as a nurse the above comment remind me of the important of iodine. We only need a little bit, but without it our health would eventually break down to a disastrously level. In this exciting journey as SFG's learner's and sharer of information we are discovering more organic ways to help our homegrown plant reach their fullest potential of being healthy, beautiful and providing the highest level of nutrients so our bodies can heal and not just be in maintenance/survival mode.
Austin

Again, I must point out that this product may be of value in native soils. Mel's Mix is a soilless growing medium.

I'm currently in the middle of an experiment using azomite.  At the moment, I have 4 boxes divided in half.  To half of each box I added azomite per the instructions.  When I plant, whether seeds or seedlings, I plant in twos: one goes into the regular MM side, the other into the azomite side.  

My results to date:

There is no difference in size, color or growth rate for any type of veggie planted. So far, I've only been able to harvest lettuces, spinach, radishes, bok choy, and chard.  There is no flavor differences between the two sides.

I have several varieties of broccoli, cauliflower, and kolhrabi included in this experiment, but they're not quite ready to eat yet.  As with the other veggies, there's no visual differences.

I'm just beginning serious planting of my warm crops, and I'll be trying the same experiment on tomatoes, peppers, and beans.  Because of the larger root system of tomatoes, the control plants and the amended plants will be in different boxes.

In order not to be a victim of confirmation bias, the above opinions are not mine.  They are the unanimous opinions of 6 neighbors and friends who had no idea which side of the box was amended.

I gotta run for now.

Boffer, that a true double blind study and I love it!!! 
because I can be bias myself. Thank for the info and keep us updated. 
I never thought about asking my neighbors, but that's a great idea. A person can see anything he wants to see if he don't have somebody to help him be accountable.

Thank you again

Austin

+1, boffer!  Please keep us informed!

That's very exciting, Boffer! We kind of already surmised that because our compost is such a mix of different things there wouldn't be anything missing from it. But it will be really good to be able to prove it.

Boffer, Hope you are taking photos for the visual results! Can't wait until all your data is in and you can do a presentation.    I expect a full PowerPoint presentation with handouts!    JK

What about differences in pH from one garden to another, seems like that will affect nutrient uptake.  What about temperatures, seems like its pretty cool out there in that part of the country and even Mel mentions (correctly)  that temperature will affect nutrient uptake. There is granular azomite and powdered Azomite, surely the granular will take longer to break down and be absorbed. I came across a site where it claims granular could take 6 months to break down and become available.  For many of us that would mean the product won't help during the first growing season at all.  Just want to mention that there are a lot more variables to consider before looking at one garden in one part of the country and declaring a product worthy or not for all the other gardens. There is plenty of azomite info online, be sure to look it up yourself and don't limit your knowledge to this forum, as good as it can sometimes to oftentimes be.  I'm not looking to pick a fight, no not at all.  Just some of the comments made it sound like this is the only worthy test.  To which I say, try it yourself in your own garden and decide from there.

Your statement is correct. We have to tweak our sfg for our area. In my area is excessive heat and water restrictions and I extremely appreciated the help, ideas I received to allow my plants to reach the fullest potential in my area. It helped not to go to the schol of hard knocks and lose days, since I can't get them back. Azomite seems very helpful for me, but I love the double blind study that Boffer, even for my area which I didn't do. We know we need the soil web of life to increase in the soil for the plants to be happy, such as the aid from fungi, earthworms, hunus, etc.. so when the plants take away the nutrient the soil web of life is putting it back in . Azomite is just one thing someone may find helpful in their SFG bed in their area.

It will be interesting to compare the results for Boffer and Has55.

GloriaG wrote:It will be interesting to compare the results for Boffer and Has55.

So its been over 5 months since the last post. Any results to report? Curious minds want to know.