Basalt rock found by researchers not only to boost crop growth significantly, but also to trap carbon from the air by helping to form new crystals.
The same basaltic rock which we have in our Hagstones is the same type of rock which scientists at Newcastle University have begun issuing to farmers in the North East of England. Why? When ground up into a fine powder this rock increases the growth rate of the crops in that field.
How Does Ground Basalt Help Farmers?
In a first-of-its-kind trial led by UNDO - manufacturers of the rock dust product – producers are issuing farmers with free product. The catch? Only that they use it in their fields to witness up to 22% growth in the crops which they plant. Farmers are invited to trade in carbon points for income as an added incentive to do well.
According to studies led by Newcastle University, crops benefit from the enriched minerals and nutrients found inside eroding rocks. Part of the great cycle of rocks on this planet occurs when minerals are eroded, end up in the soil, and are eventually saturated in water.
Once eroded into small enough particles to travel in water, that mineral-rich fluid will run off the land and either filter down into it and infill the holes in the ground with nutrient rich liquids which eventually harden into crystals – or they wash out into the sea.
UNDO Removes Carbon From The Air!
In the case of using the UNDO product, the mineral rich liquid will run off into the waterways, where it will be trapped inside the newly forming rocks as carbon. Thus removing carbon from the air and benefiting the farmer at the same time.
This is groundbreaking. Pun intended.
Calcite crystals - like those for sale in The Stone Circle shop - are mainly made up of calcium carbonate. This combines calcium with carbon, forming into a fairly soft mineral, with the potential for metamorphoses over time. Carbon trapped this way goes back into the rocks of the world, eroding over time to feed the crops once again.
The company promises a product which enhances rock weathering by permanently trapping carbon within it. UNDO are on a mission to remove 1 million tonnes of carbon from the air by 2025 – and this new trial which offers their product to farmers in the North East of England for free should keep them on track for doing just that.
A Carbon Eliminator Which Benefits Everyone
Since the UNDO project has the potential to remove up to 4 billion tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere, and since it benefits farmers in the process, this is a real solution for a very real, extremely scary problem.
In a single year, if utilized correctly, this project has the capacity to up crop yield by a full fifth while simultaneously helping reach 40% of global carbon targets in one fell swoop.
Rocks are magic, aren’t they?
You can read more about this on the BBC website, if that is your sort of thing.
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