Dell,

In Rodale's 1978 Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening he writes to
following:

"Glauconite greensand or greensand marl is an iron potassium silicate
that imparts a green color to the minerals in which it occurs. Being
an undersea deposit, greensand contains traces of many if not all the
elements which occur in seawater. It has been used for more than a
hundred years and is a fine source of potash.

Greensand is commonly called a glauconite potash mineral, because it
contains from 5 t0 6 percent of available potash. The best deposits
contain, in addition to the potash, 50 percent silica, 18 to 23
percent magnesia, small amounts of lime and phosphoric acid, and
traces of 30 or more other elements, most of which are important in
the nutrition of the higher plants.

Factors underlying the immediate response of grasses to greensand seem
to be greensand's ability to absorb and hold large amounts of water in
the surface layer of the soil where the plant roots feed and to slowly
release, over a long period of time, the potassium to stimulate
photosynthesis. In addition it contains the trace elements which may
be deficient in the soil or in the surface layer of the soil in which
the grass roots feed.

Greensand is so fine that it may be used in its natural form with no
processing except drying if the material is to pass through a
fertilizer drill. An application consists of about 1/4 pound of
greensand per square foot of soil, but you may want to spread it
thinner. It may be applied at any time spring or fall without danger
of injuring plants, but , since greensand contains aluminum, do not
over apply. It may be applied on the surface in sheet composting, or
used in the compost heap to stimulate bacterial action and enrich the
compost.

Hope this may be of some use.

Richard Eggenberger (Narad)

On 29, Sep 2008, at 6:44 PM, Dell Sherk wrote:

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