Dr. Jenson says that plants need far more than the three nutrients that are provided in the usual commercial fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium); and he says that plants need almost all minerals in trace amounts. Dr. Jensen says that microbes in the plants' roots break down the rock powder and make the minerals available to the plants, in particles that are tiny enough to pass into the root system. He says that when the plants have a full spectrum of minerals, that they are more nutritious and also tastier, and that eating them makes us healthier. I can vouch for the tastier, because our vegetables (especially the corn, cucumbers and tomatoes) were among the very best that I have ever tasted. My mouth is watering right now, just thinking about them.
So Mike found a source for rock powder, and he applied two 50-pound bags of it to the garden. You can get rock powder in various grades and coarseness. Mike started with a very fine powder so that the plants would receive the mineral boost faster. We plan to also add some coarser rock powder that will break down more slowly and last a long time. Mike says that the rock powder is expected to last over 70 years, so I figure that once we add the coarser grain, that should be sufficient for the rest of the time that we expect to live here.
If you don't have a source for rock powder, I believe that adding lava rock would accomplish the same thing, just more slowly. We placed lava rock around a lot of plants in the yard because we have some major snail and slug issues here in the eternal springtime of Southern California, and those will not cross lava rock. I have noticed that lava rock breaks down rather quickly, and I think that lava would contain practically all the minerals that a plant or microbe could ever want.
OTHER SOURCES OF ENRICHMENT FOR THE TERRA PRETA
ANIMAL BEDDING
NOTE: Only use bedding from vegan animals. Animals that eat meat, especially if it is raw, can spread a lot of diseases and parasites.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you are going to use animal bedding as compost for your terra preta, do not use cedar. Cedar has a natural pesticide in it and is poisonous.
We have been adding the aspen-chip bedding from our large tortoises' sleeping area, which is very rich in, well, you know, tortoise fertilizer. This is some seriously good stuff for a garden, especially since our tortoises dine mostly on clover.
Speaking of recycling, tortoise-style, we also are able to use any vegetables that were spoiled by insects by feeding them to our large Sulcata tortoises. Those guys will eat and recycle almost any plant matter, except for beans. And they're cuter than a worm farm.
If you have rabbits, then that bedding and the dung would be a fantastic addition to your terra preta.
If you live near any horses or cattle, maybe you can talk the rancher out of some of the used hay in the stables, in return for removing it. You would need to let that cure for awhile before putting it into the garden, because large animal manure is very rich and will burn the plants if it is used too soon. Also, don't use any stable material from race horses à ‚¬" according to the newspapers, a lot of those critters are doped up with who-knows-what kind of drugs.
KITCHEN WASTE
We also add raw vegetable and fruit waste from the kitchen, eggshells, and coffee grounds as well as the coffee filters. We don't have a compost pile à ‚¬" the terra preta garden itself is the compost pile.
LEAVES
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