Question 1

Is this the same thing as DE?

Accepted Answer

Actually, Azomite contains trace minerals that have been depleted from soils due to our bad habits (we didnt know any better!), which resulted from unchecked erosion as well as use of pesticides and quick-results chemicals. Consequences be damned! We are now paying for that which was done before us (though i have to admit when i first started gardening in the 70s, i was guilty of buying the quick-fix line of the day.  Now we have to mitigate those effects by returning to the land what was lost from bad practices.  Without Azomite you'll probably get tomatoes like always, but with it you may get bigger, better, or more tomatoes!  Obviously, you may not need every trace element/mineral in there, but i doubt you will over-do it, because the amounts are small to begin with.  BTW, the copy states this product comes from ancient volcano.

As for Diatomaceous Earth (sp), that is from ancient seabeds (i think?), and is made up of shells of microscopic sea creatures.  They resemble snowflakes in that every edge is sharp, and when bugs crawl over the stuff, it slices little wounds in the exo-skeleton that result in the insect losing vital moisture and dying.  I often sprinkle it on the lower portion of plants where bugs might crawl up the stalk of the plant, this causes death shortly.  If you want flying insects to keep off, you can put the powder DE in the leafy portion.  Probably wise to rinse it off at some point for asthetics' sake, as well as to make sure sunlight can get to the leaves.  When it comes to snails and slugs, somewhere i read that they easily heal themselves by just upping the slime output; something tells me the DE wouldnt affect them that much.  You can put broken eggshells (about 1/4-1/2"  pieces) around plants that are affected, such as Strawberries, etc. They wont cross the irritating eggshells even for a delicious strawberry dinner!

Question 2

I was planing on getting a sea kelp fertilizer for my veggie plants. Would Azomite be better?

Accepted Answer

ok but don't forget that Fukushima radiation is being directly absorbed by Pacific seaweed these days.  Because, like most algae, it soaks up heavy metals and in fact algae is used in some water treatment and water purification systems for exactly that purpose.  Just be sure you're getting Atlantic-based seaweed for your fertilizer at this time, plutonium is a particularly nasty heavy metal because it has a radioactive half-life(Pu-239) a half-life of 24,100 years.BTW I hope you're not buying Alaska fish fertilizer, either.  Any marine or ocean product from the Pacific is going to be slow-motion carcinogenic poison, attacking thyroids, heart tissue and other organs, exactly what happened with the food chain in and around the vicinity of Chernobyl, only  100,000x worse because it isn't land-based and could have been contained easier.

Question 3

How far will this 2 lb go?  How much is needed as a soil additive for a vegetable garden?

Accepted Answer

one pound of Azomite, for me, does a 4' x 12' raised bed.  I just sprinkle it on and let the rain soak it into the soil.  Very easy application.  I have six raised beds and use 6 lbs of Azomite plus I use a powdered fertilizer I get from Gardens Alive.  The azomite puts in the minerals and that's what makes fruits and veggies "sweet" tasting.

Question 4

Does this affect soil PH at all?

Accepted Answer

It's a very good question, The PH of Azomite 8:0 and i am mixing it in 1 tsps in 5 gallon Grow bag with sphagnum peat moss which is PH 4.5 and cow manure compost. every thing is growing very well. i think you should use it with moderation. good luck.

Manufacturer reference	RN-AZ-2
Product Dimensions	22.86 x 5.08 x 15.24 cm; 907.18 g
ASIN	B0149L0EJ2

Root Naturally Azomite Rock Dust - 2 Pounds

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