Greensand

Deborah Jordan djordan68@comcast.net
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:15:06 PDT
Hi Dell--
I use it mixed in with potting mixes--I use a form from Texas. 

Regards,
Debbie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Narad (Richard Eggenberger)" <narad@alltel.net>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 7:14 PM
Subject: Re: [pbs] Greensand


> Dell,
> 
> In Rodale's 1978 Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening he writes to  
> following:
> 
> "Glauconite greensand or greensand marl is an iron potassium silicate  
> that imparts a green color to the minerals in which it occurs.  Being  
> an undersea deposit, greensand contains traces of many if not all the  
> elements which occur in seawater.  It has been used for more than a  
> hundred years and is a fine source of potash.
> 
> Greensand is commonly called a glauconite potash mineral, because it  
> contains from 5 t0 6 percent of available potash.  The best deposits  
> contain, in addition to the potash, 50 percent silica, 18 to 23  
> percent magnesia, small amounts of lime and phosphoric acid, and  
> traces of 30 or more other elements, most of which are important in  
> the nutrition of the higher plants.
> 
> Factors underlying the immediate response of grasses to greensand seem  
> to be greensand's ability to absorb and hold large amounts of water in  
> the surface layer of the soil where the plant roots feed and to slowly  
> release, over a long period of time, the potassium to stimulate  
> photosynthesis.  In addition it contains the trace elements which may  
> be deficient in the soil or in the surface layer of the soil in which  
> the grass roots feed.
> 
> Greensand is so fine that it may be used in its natural form with no  
> processing except drying if the material is to pass through a  
> fertilizer drill.  An application consists of about 1/4 pound of  
> greensand per square foot of soil, but you may want to spread it  
> thinner.  It may be applied at any time spring or fall without danger  
> of injuring plants, but , since greensand contains aluminum, do not  
> over apply.  It may be applied on the surface in sheet composting, or  
> used in the compost heap to stimulate bacterial action and enrich the  
> compost.
> 
> Hope this may be of some use.
> 
> Richard Eggenberger (Narad)
> 
> 
> On 29, Sep 2008, at 6:44 PM, Dell Sherk wrote:
> 
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> I would like to know about the wisdom of using greensand in potting  
>> mixes or
>> as a top dressing as a source of potassium and trace minerals. I  
>> read that
>> it weathers quickly making the various minerals easily available to  
>> plants.
>> I have used it in the vegetable garden for some years, especially on  
>> root
>> crops, with success that cannot be directly related to greensand. I  
>> think
>> that it is a good, "kind" source of potassium, but I am wondering to  
>> what
>> extent the trace elements are available.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dell, in SE Pennsylvania, USA, Zone 6/7
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> pbs mailing list
>> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
>> http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
>> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/
> 
> _______________________________________________
> pbs mailing list
> pbs@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php
> http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/


More information about the pbs mailing list