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re: Pumice contents
Robert wrote:
> Not that I doubt what anybody said, but here is the
> information I got from Cornel universities Something
> to grow on WEB pages on Pumice
That's Cornell University with two L's.
> Pumice Pumice is produced as volcanic lava cools;
> escaping steam and gas contribute to its porous nature.
> This alumino-silicate material contains potassium, sodium,
> magnesium, calcium, and slight amounts of iron. Pumice
> can absorb K, Mg, P, and Ca from the soil solution
> and render it available for plant absorption later
> (Bunt, 1988).
I question this. I am not a geologist but I'll step out on a limb
here: pumice to my knowledge is concentrated with minerals but
of the silicon dioxide variety (quartz) variety, not alumino-silicates.
That pumice will absorb K ions, etc. from soil _solution_ is
accurate but misleading; because of it's purosity it will absorb
many things in solution, however I can tell you that the cation exchange
capacity of pumice is low, so at least in that sence it will in fact not
"absorb" many nutrients.
I have always conjectured that Amano has taken advantage of the
purosity of pumice by dosing it with minerals artificially or has discovered
a source within in one of Japans (many) natural hot springs which
could subject the pumice there to a more natural dosing of minerals.
In either case, the resultant nutrient ions are not a native property
of pumice.
Christopher Coleman
christopher.coleman at worldnet_att.net