Rockdust is an organic fertiliser consisting of crushed basalt, a volcanic rock, which contains minerals and trace elements. Rockdust is added to soil to improve fertility and has been tested since 1993 at the Sustainable Ecological Earth Regeneration Centre (SEER Centre) in Straloch, near Pitlochry, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

SEER's research claims that the benefits of adding Rockdust to soil include increased moisture-holding properties in the soil, improved cation exchange capacity and better soil structure and drainage. Rockdust also provides calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, plus trace elements and micronutrients. By replacing these leached minerals it is claimed that soil health is increased and that this produces healthier plants.

Rockdust is also the limestone-based product sprayed on walls inside underground coal mines to keep coal dust levels down. This is to prevent coal dust explosions and also to prevent the incidence of black lung disease.

See also

• Organic farming
• Rock flour
• Soil conditioner

External links

• Seer Centre
• BBC News report
• Scotland on Sunday report