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Hi Charles, is there an alternative to using vermiculite or is there a good source of organic vermiculite that you would recommend using?
Many thanks
Louise
Not sure Louise, I use v little so don’t worry about it, it’s not like plastic.
Good question, perhaps others have an idea?Vermiculite comes from a mineral deposit, therefore by definition it surely cannot be organic?
Yes it’s mainly clay and silicate, so technicaly not organic but where do we draw the line with organic?
How was clay/limestone etc formed millions of years ago?
It hasn’t got any nasty chemicals added and we have to remember that most of the deadliest poisons known to man,are 100% organic…Paul that is an interesting comment.
I researched the origins of the description “organic food” in the UK and the word organic was less common until about the 1950s. Prior to that, the founders of the UK Soil Association described their produce as “compost grown”, because of their awareness of the health-giving, biological effects of adding compost to soil.
“Compost grown” was a positive statement that food had health-giving qualities, such as microbes that modern nutritionists now recognise as so important for gut health.
This description was then submerged in the 1950s and after by ‘organic as free of synthetic chemicals’.
Defined by what it did not have, more than by what it did have.
As an aside, ‘organic growers’ have to pay a lot of money to be certified as such, while chemical growers do their thing for free.
For me, “no dig” takes food back to a description of positive health.Vermiculite is an inert mineral based from millions of year old bacterial activity upon sediments in rock. It is considered “Safe”, its fire proof and has many uses, including addition to cattle compounded foods to create bulk and dissipate the higher fibre diet! Personally wouldn’t (nowingly) ingest it but I try to avoid inhaling its dust.
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