4 results for tag: minerals
Minerals and Microbes: Remineralization on the Isle of Jersey
Glyn Mitchell carrying hemp grown at Jersey Hemp.
The island of Jersey juts out of the English Channel just off the coast of Normandy, France. The people who live there don’t consider themselves part of the UK any more than they consider themselves part of France. It should come as no surprise, then, that the people of Jersey are taking their own approach to managing the natural resources that make the island unique in fighting climate change.
One of the people at the forefront of moving Jersey toward a more sustainable future is Glyn Mitchell, a carbon farmer with the Carbon Farm Project. The project is part of Jersey Hemp, the first British-...
Pioneer Spotlight: Acknowledging the contributions of sustainable agriculture consultant Steve Diver
Long-time agriculture and horticulture specialist Steve Diver has been an active proponent of the remineralization movement for many years. His scholastic training focused on the areas of horticulture, botany, plant physiology, and soil science, and in the years since, he has become a sought-after expert in those areas of study and the agriculture industry as a whole.
Diver has spent his career thus far working in various agricultural capacities, including an 18-year stint with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) as a specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA). With ATTRA, Diver particip...
Blending Biochar with Rockdust: High-efficiency Mineral Delivery
Seedlings grown in soil treated with rock dust. 4 trays on left are commercial rock dust products; 3 on right are potential midwest region resources.
David Yarrow emphasizes that carbon is only one element in soil, and that the priority for our planet is soil regeneration through stewardship of diverse living communities and cultures. The very actions essential to put carbon, minerals, and microbes back in soils may restore authentic community to human society, wealth to community economies, health to human bodies, and true culture to our relations with the Earth as Gaia, a unified living intelligence.
Foundation fertility
Rock ...
Craving Minerals, Eating Rocks: Why do animals and humans eat rock dust?
Last October the Los Angeles Times released an article about research on tool-use among the wild bearded capuchin monkeys of Brazil. The article showcased two short videos of the monkeys smashing rocks against larger boulders – which was interpreted as intentional tool-making behavior.
With a closer look, another strange behavior emerged. The monkeys occasionally licked the rocks in their paws.
Several hypotheses were proposed to explain this behavior: the monkeys were licking off the minerals in the rock dust collected on the surface of the rocks; they were consuming lichen with antimicrobial properties; or, they were simply consuming ...
