Thinking of adding minerals to water lily dirt.

[karen J]

Everyone over the years develops their own favorite water lily dirt recipe. But I was reading an old ACRES publication (it's a mag about farming) about farmer's efforts to add back minerals to depleted soils to improve the nutritional qualities of vegetables, pastures, etc. There is a lot more to fertilizer than nitrogen, potassium, and potash.

Many of the more expensive aquatic fertilizers have micronutrients that try and mimic the natural mineral content of "not depleted" soils.

Magnesium, calcium, halite (sodium chloride), sulphur, iron, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, zinc, etc are only some of the minerals that exist in soils and salts.

Minerals come from broken down rocks. So I was thinking that maybe adding a cheap bag of gravel to my water lily soil recipe. What do you think? When I wash a bag of gravel, all of the gunk that washes away is actually the broken down minerals from the rocks. I was treating it as a waste product and washing it away instead of recognizing the value of it.

I was also thinking about adding a few bags to my vegetable garden.

[Johns]

karen,

Instead of  rocks, which generally take a million years or so to give up any contained minerals, why not use sand?  Even though the mineral release will still be slow, at least you will have the benefit of a more "arable" soil, easier to till and less likley to form clods.  As far as micronutrients are concerned, miracle grow fertilizer contains most you will ever need.

[enzo]

@karen J

I grow tropical water lilies in sand and they happen to do very well.

[Julles]

My mother used to put white rocks on top of her house plants, for the nutrients.

I think it would depend on the TYPE of rocks you used, as they have different chemical compositions.  Also, I would fear that dust would get into your water and cloud it, instead of feeding your plants' roots.

When I worked in our family's paint and wallpaper store, we sold something called "rotten stone."  I wonder if that is ground up rock, that could be used for what you're considering. 

[karen J]

Thanks for the responses. Johns & Enzo, I was already using sand to dress the water lily pots... guess I'll just continue & mix a little into the soil. Enzo, when I divide this year I'll try a few in sand to see what happens. I grow mostly hardies and tropical night bloomers.

Julles, that's why I washed my gravel off- so as to not cloud the water. I'm not sure how necessary that was- people add koi clay to their ponds all the time and it's essentially the same thing. Yeah, one can argue what type of clay but it is all essentially broken down rock in the end, right?

I've heard the term "rotten stone" before but can't remember where.