Local Crab shell alternative

[nici]

 

i'm not sure they are the same , they have some not bad prices 

shame they haven't got back to you , do you know where they are in oz ?

 

Doing a little D work they look to be located in NSW 2101

[itchybromusic]

Doing a little D work they look to be located in NSW 2101

interesting 

when i put 10kg of rock dust in the basket , standard parcel post shipping was $25 

i thought that price would have put them in vic 

[nici]

interesting

when i put 10kg of rock dust in the basket , standard parcel post shipping was $25

i thought that price would have put them in vic

Better get it while you can before they change the postage

[cardrona]

it used to be possible to get a 25kg bag of oyster shell powder from aristopet (in Brissy) - they source it from NZ (excelsior grit). I think it was around $50 for the bag. As itchybromusic said ... lasts donkeys. Not sure if they still sell it though, as it was ages ago. It is different to the one that the Nth Americans mention, as there's is mainly sourced from San Fransisco Bay and is in a fossilised version. 

 

Another calcium carbonate input could also be blended egg shells - from organic/biodynamic farms. 

 

Just a heads up if buying the cuttlebone from coles/woolies or a pet store ... ask them where it comes from. There are many contaminated waters and it would be a real shit to have a beautifully mixed soil spoiled by polluted inputs. If they don't know ... please avoid it.

Go to your local seafood supplier in the shops and buy a dozen un shucked oysters for 12-15 bucks depending on the time of the year 

Way cheaper ....and the same thing  ...and not sprayed/quaritined from importation 

[pug1010]

Go to your local seafood supplier in the shops and buy a dozen un shucked oysters for 12-15 bucks depending on the time of the year

Way cheaper ....and the same thing ...and not sprayed/quaritined from importation

 

Not wrong cardrona. That's a way better way of doing things. When I first started sourcing soil ingredients, I thought I had to get the exact ones that the notill / living organic soil gurus suggested. I really appreciate all their efforts, but have found that as the years go by ... just like the rest of us ... they sometimes get a few things wrong or don't have the same health/environmental concerns as I do. Also ... they are mostly based in North America with different choices.

 

As a result ... I now try to get as many components from nature and locally - I don't use crab meal or oyster shell anymore. This time round, I'm giving the cuttlebone a go as my liming and chitin components. As itchy has also mentioned ... I'm a big fan of organic powdered malted barley for chitinase.

 

Will see how it goes ... it smells lovely.

Edited July 2, 2017 by pug1010

[pug1010]

 

i'm not sure they are the same , they have some not bad prices 

shame they haven't got back to you , do you know where they are in oz ?

I was a bit suss of them and ended up looking elsewhere for rock dust - depending where you are located, there is some well priced basalt dust from western australia, min-plus from north qld and the biodynamic website in NSW has good info and on the cation values of two different basalt dust sources that can be purchased from their online site.

 

I reckon that nearly all the stuff soillifesolutions sell can be sourced from more reputable and possibly cheaper places ... only hassle is that shipping has to be paid from various sellers instead from just one, which could jack the prices up a bit.

[itchybromusic]

I was a bit suss of them and ended up looking elsewhere for rock dust - depending where you are located, there is some well priced basalt dust from western australia, min-plus from north qld and the biodynamic website in NSW has good info and on the cation values of two different basalt dust sources that can be purchased from their online site.

 

I reckon that nearly all the stuff soillifesolutions sell can be sourced from more reputable and possibly cheaper places ... only hassle is that shipping has to be paid from various sellers instead from just one, which could jack the prices up a bit.

cool mate i'll check em out 

 

in the past i got basalt from WA 

https://www.weatherworks.com.au/category/product/rock-dust-product/

[pug1010]

cool mate i'll check em out 

 

in the past i got basalt from WA 

https://www.weatherworks.com.au/category/product/rock-dust-product/

 

that looks like good stuff - I think the shipping would kill me, otherwise I'd be on to it.

[itchybromusic]

that looks like good stuff - I think the shipping would kill me, otherwise I'd be on to it.

yep shipping from WA to Vic isn't fun but i found it very hard to find a unadulterated basalt ( just waiting on a pack & send quote wa to vic at the mo )

most are a proprietary mix of a few items , like the no frills rock dust it has 17 ingredients to make there rock dust  

 

i just want the basalt , i'm making my own mix & using a rock dust that's not just rock dust could over balance 

what i'm trying to balance , the point is with products that have 17 ingredients , what am i putting in my mix , could

be really good or bad but how do you know , if bad , which one of the 17 mixed together with other ingredients i put in are a prob

you could work it out with soil testing but who can afford that every time you make a mix 

[pedro de pacas]

yep shipping from WA to Vic isn't fun but i found it very hard to find a unadulterated basalt ( just waiting on a pack & send quote wa to vic at the mo )

most are a proprietary mix of a few items , like the no frills rock dust it has 17 ingredients to make there rock dust  

 

i just want the basalt , i'm making my own mix & using a rock dust that's not just rock dust could over balance 

what i'm trying to balance , the point is with products that have 17 ingredients , what am i putting in my mix , could

be really good or bad but how do you know , if bad , which one of the 17 mixed together with other ingredients i put in are a prob

you could work it out with soil testing but who can afford that every time you make a mix

So no going to the local quarry/sand soil place and grabbing a bucket full of granite