Sustainable Tarpon Springs - Amazing Azomite!

Since we have only a month and a half of really hot summer remaining, we are just around the corner from our fall planting season.  I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since our family arrived in Tarpon Springs last August 15, so I’ve been reflecting on all the amazing things we have learned about gardening in this ‘new-to-us’ area since last year.  

Thankfully, the people we met through my blog in the Patch accelerated our steep learning curve with Florida Gulf.  We were delighted to learn there are two complete growing seasons here; whereas, in the Seattle area, we were lucky to have one complete growing season!

Through rapid networking, we found a variety of superb resources, including other ‘urban farmers’ who were generous with quality information.  We went on a number of private garden tours, from Dunedin to New Port Richey (deliberately sticking to our region).  During this time, I was ‘clearing’ as much of the local grasses, sand spurs, and other invasive, twining plants from our own backyard, getting ready for what was to come.

When we attended Eco-fest in New Port Richey last fall, we connected with our source of free mulch.  We also connected with a ‘locally legendary’ urban farmer who introduced us to Azomite.  He used a soil block recipes from from Eliot Coleman’s book The New Organic Grower, and Azomite was one of the ingredients for a ‘soil block’ recipe for starting seedlings.  

In researching Azomite, Jimmy discovered Quality Green Specialists in Deland, Florida.  Through them, we had our soil tested by Logan Labs LLC back in March, and Dana Venrick recommended a special formula of natural minerals to ‘correct’ or amend our mulch.  Jimmy has driven to Deland twice now to buy 44 pound bags of Azomite - for our own use and to sell to other gardeners in our community, and so far, we’ve used only two bags for our own garden.

So, what is Azomite?  It is simply the best ‘rock dust’ or volcanic mineralizer there is.  Classified as Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, it originates from ancient volcanos in Utah.  It has a multitude of uses, even as a natural farm animal feed additive - and approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) as appropriate for certified organic farming. 

Flashback to your high school history class and remember that during the 1930’s, our country not only suffered a major economic collapse, but simultaneously, suffered the devastating Great Dustbowl catastrophe.  It came to everyone’s attention how depleted our soil had become through monoculture farming and other artificial methods of mass food production.  

The 74th Congress mandated soil ‘remineralization’ - but didn’t understand the need to make soil complete in trace elements as well...thus, NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) inorganic, petroleum-based fertilizers were introduced into mainstream agriculture.  

Revisiting the 1936 mandate, the United Nations Earth Summit did a follow-up in 1992, and sadly discovered soil was in as poor a condition as ever before, and North American farming and range soils among the worst!  This meant animals raised for food, and food raised for human consumption was seriously lacking in vital nutrients for sustaining healthy life.  

The late Dr. William A. Albrecht, considered to be the ‘father of soil science’, said:  

“Declining soil fertility, due a a lack of organic material, major elements, and trace minerals, is responsible for poor crops and in turn for pathological conditions. In animals fed deficient foods from mineral deficient soils we get deficient food.

“This continues up the food chain - mankind is no exception...NPK formulas, as legislated and enforced by State Departments of Agriculture, mean malnutrition, attack by insects, bacteria and fungi, weed takeover, crop loss in dry weather, and general loss of mental acuity in the population, leading to degenerative metabolic disease and early death.

“It is high time to learn that our national health lies in our soil and the guarantee against failing health lies in the wise management of the soil for production of nutritious foods.”

Prophetically, we are currently seeing seriously dangerous state of drought in the midwest food crops.  There is still devastating and destructive farming methods used.  Locally, polluted run-off problems are a result of the use of NPK fertilizers - so by Pinellas County ordinance, they are now banned during the raining season.  However, there is a simple solution at hand!  Stop using all inorganic NPK fertilizers entirely, not on lawns and certainly not on our food gardens!

If we simply add Azomite to the soil medium, along with natural levels of NPK, we can completely remineralizing dead soil.  Plants become hardier, greener, more resilient to disease and insect attacks, and in turn, produce healthier fruits and vegetables.  And best of all, our environment is not destroyed in the process!  This may sound simplistic, but I don’t think I need to get too technical in this weekly blog.;-)

The heart of Sustainability is balance with nature.  If we work in harmony with nature, doing everything as naturally as possible, we are certain to get the best results today and for the future!  It is high time to ‘call off the chemicals’ and let Nature teach us Her ways.  Using Azomite and natural, organic fertilizers are a healthy, happy start.