Organics Made Easy

Proudly brought to you by
Organics Made Easy.
Paving the way to an organic future

Benefits of palagonite

•Very limited leaching has occurred and because of the devitrification process the macro- and micronutrients are more readily available to the plants.

• It has a high cation exchange capacity of 34meq/100g (far greater than typical blue metal crusher dusts), making it suitable for remineralising depleted soil.

• It fosters the growth of micro-organisms.

• It has paramagnetic values ranging from 600 to 1,300 c/g/s.

• It has a pH of 8 to 8.5 which makes it suitable alternative to adding agricultural lime and provides a longer term solution to soil acidification.

• It has a very high water holding capacity.

Why use Palagonite instead of other rock mineral dusts

Palagonite has resulted in a product that is both a supplier and retainer of plant available nutrients. The Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of a soil is a measure of its ability to retain both nutrients and water. It is closely related to fertility and is a measure of the number of exchangeable cations per dry weight that a soil is capable of holding at a given pH value and be available for exchange in soil-water combinations. Normal quarry derived basalt dust has CEC values ranging from 4 to 14 meq/100g while the mine that OME sources Palagonite averages around 34 meq/100g. This mostly reflects the smectite clay component of the material. This smectite clay content also enhances the water holding capacity. In addition Palagonite has a good paramagnetic response (600-1300 c)

What is Palagonite?

Palagonite is a natural soil conditioner that was created through a rare geological process that involved the interaction between water and hot flowing basalt lava. OME sources Palagonite from a fresh water lake in which underlying diatomaceous earth had recently accumulated. The quenched lava formed rinds of volcanic glass that over time were devitrified to amorphous compounds and non-swelling smectite clay. This process is called palagonisation and the chemical characteristics of the alteration products produced by this process are particularly exciting for their potential applications in agriculture, particularly horticulture.

NSW Distributors

Organics Made Easy Pty Ltd

A3 5-7 Hepher Rd

Application

Application rates will vary but, when using Palagonite for the first time a generous application is normally recommended. Because the minerals in Palagonite will break down at a slower rate than with chemical fertilisers the aim is to create a reserve of the beneficial elements for the soil microbes and fungi to access as required. For the back yard vegetable gardener the optimum rate is around 1 kilogram per square metre in conjunction with a comparable amount of compost. For tree planting you may consider higher rates of application. In an example of a commercial horticulture practice, apply Palagonite in conjunction with composted chicken manure at 12 tonnes/ Ha. (6 tonnes of Palagonite and 6 tonnes of composted manure).

Comparing Palagonite with liming programmes

Liming is the application of calcium and magnesium rich carbonates and hydroxides (usually limestone and dolomite) to soils to neutralise soil acidity and increase activity of soil bacteria. Ag Lime is ground calcium carbonate that reacts with acids thereby increasing the pH of the soil and returning it towards a neutral pH at 7. As an undesirable consequence every tonne of lime that is neutralised through the application, 400 kilograms of carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere. Palagonite contains plentiful amounts of plant available calcium and magnesium and although the levels do not compare with Ag lime and dolomite, the retention of the macro and micronutrients in acidic soils will over time lead to improvements in soil quality which would be unobtainable with liming alone. Repeated applications of Palagonite blended with composted organic matter should lead to long term improvements in the pH of the soil and overall improvement in soil health. Palagonite itself has a pH ranging from 8 to 8.5. Using Palagonite consequently provides a longer term solution to soil acidification. A mixture of Palagonite and Ag lime can also be used where a more rapid pH adjustment is required.

Organics Made Easy pty ltd