Early winter and spring are the two great times to improve the nutrients in your soil. We all know that in order for our gardens to flourish we must first feed the soil and then the plant. Healthy soil is the basis of any good garden. Every spring and fall gardeners add manure, compost and other organic matter in order to replace lost nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. These additions are valuable as they not only add nutrition they also improve soil structure. Other than carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which are supplied air and water, these are the elements utilized most by plants during their lifecycle. Something often overlooked is the addition of minerals to our soils. Minerals are important because they are necessary for soil and plant nutrition and with out them plants will not grow properly.

A simple way to add minerals to your soil is to apply a natural product such as rock dust. Readily available this natural mineral adds a broad spectrum of minerals to any garden soil. Rock dust will improve soil structure, moisture holding properties and nutrient availability. Mixed with compost, soil or manure it increases bacterial action, in a sense bringing the soil to life. Rock Dust should be added every year as part of a regular soil maintenance routine to garden beds, vegetable gardens, and the lawn. B

Rock dust is generally available in a powdered form, which makes it very easy to apply. Simply add 10kg per 50m square and till into the top 3" of garden soil. Another way to incorporate it is to simply apply direct at planting time, when planting perennials, fruit trees, bulbs or small shrubs add ¼ cup directly into the hole. For existing beds, simply apply a small amount around each plant and scratch into the soil, then water in. Rock Dust is extremely useful in the compost pile, as it encourages the bacterial action, increasing the rate of compost break down. The extra nutrients will help your plants to resist cold and fight off disease, bloom prolifically and help to reduce damage from early spring frosts.

Perhaps where rock dust can help us most is in the vegetable gardens, for a bountiful colourful harvest sprinkle a thin layer of rock dust into your rows at seeding and transplanting time. The added minerals will help all of the nutrients become available to our plants, reducing problems like blossom end rot.

Available within three weeks of application, rock dust is a fast, effective and safe way to add minerals to our soil and ensure our plants grow properly. If you have had a problem with stunted or distorted growth, yellow leaves, or constant battle with disease rock dust might just be the solution you are looking for!