Visitors to Stand No. 190 at the Gardening Show 2006, www.gardeningscotland.com found an interesting story unfolding.   Angus Horticulture Ltd, FRM Recycling Ltd and The SEER Centre are together launching a range of new products to the ever-expanding retail gardening and horticultural market.   First and foremost are two offshoots of the SEER^® Rockdust^® - that featured at the Gardening Show 2005 - and these are SEER^® Rockmix^TM and SEER^® Rocksoil^TM.

Both products contain SEER Rockdust, approved by the SEER Centre, www.seercentre.org.uk, and peat-free surplus garden material "Green Goodness Compost" supplied by locally based FRM Recycling Ltd, www.frmrecycling.co.uk - and nothing else.    Cameron and Moira Thomson have pioneered the use of SEER Rockdust at the 6-acre SEER Centre site in Highland Perthshire and they have already been featured on Beechgrove Garden, Landward, Sky news, BBC News, Radio Scotland, Radio 4 and BBC World news.   Viewers, and visitors to the SEER Centre, are astounded by the health, size, vigour and flavour of the fruit, flowers and vegetables grown there, this in an area where local farmers said they would not even grow tatties.   Other SEER Rockdust benefits including higher nutritional value, longer shelf life, increased pest and drought resistance have all been demonstrated at the SEER Centre.   The growing community of gardeners who are using the SEER Rockdust endorse these claims and their independent testimonials can be seen on the SEER website.

SEER RockSOIL, a mixture of SEER Rockdust and composted garden material grows the bumper produce in the SEER Centre terraces.    "It has been a very, very long road" states Cammie, co-founder of the SEER Centre "but at last our message is getting through.   It is 10,800 years since the last ice age ended -  the minerals and trace elements that were released from the rocks crushed by glaciers are gone.    Our crops and the action of weathering have used up these minerals.    Consequently, in more recent years, farming has become more reliant on chemical sprays and fertilisers that are damaging to our environment and cause further mineral imbalances and deficiencies.  Spreading SEER Rockdust products can restore true soil fertility, enabling us all to grow mineral-rich healthy produce in our gardens and farms. 

Mixing SEER Rockdust, a by-product of the quarrying industry, with the composted garden material, utilises the very material that Local Councils are now being required to divert from landfill.   It is the perfect blend to restore health to soils, plants, animals and ourselves.  Unlike most growing medium on the market, SEER Rocksoil^TM does not need regular top ups with commercial NPK fertilisers which is both cost saving and an indication that something far more profound and dynamic is going on in the soil.

An added benefit of restoring minerals and building up the micro-organism population in soils is that this, in-turn, improves the potential for remineralised soils to play a critical role in absorbing excess atmospheric CO2, locking it into soils and vegetation.  If adopted on a global scale it may be possible to absorb enough CO2 to stabilise climate change.    We are optimistic for the future!"

So whilst the SEER RockSOIL is for growing plants in, SEER RockMIX, a richer blend of the same materials, is a top-dressing to revive and regenerate tired soils.   Natural minerals, trace elements and drainage benefits of SEER Rockdust and nutritious fibrous structure and micro-organisms of the compost retains moisture and puts health and vigour back into the soil.  Results will not be as instant as NPK fertilisers but they will be long-lasting and regular fertilising top ups won't be needed.

Whist visitors may not be surprised to find SEER products on the same stand as FRM Recycling Ltd, the East Lothian based, recently PAS 100 accredited composter, the presence of Angus Horticulture Ltd may come as a surprise.   Angus Horticulture Ltd, www.angus-horticulture.org.uk, is the established and well-respected producer of bulk fertilisers based in Angus.   "Some people may find it surprising that we are marketing a product which could be seen as competitive to our own." states Alistair Ballantyne, Director of Angus Horticulture Ltd.   "However, we have been in the game a long time and we are genuinely interested in the potential of what the SEER Centre has been working on.   We have taken on the services of Jennifer Cook as Sales and Marketing Manager and her interest was first sparked when she organised "The Secrets of Rockdust" Conference with the SEER Centre in March 2005.   As the leading fertiliser manufacturer in Scotland, this Conference also marks our move into the retail market.   We now offer our fertilisers in garden centre sized containers which can be branded to suit our clients' requirements at our plant near Brechin.  Our Angus Garden Products range now also includes Bulldog Tools, Tildenet Netting as well as FRM Recycling Ltd's "Green Goodness" Soil Improving Compost."

After meeting Moira and Cameron Thomson in 2004, author, Graham Harvey was a speaker at the SEER Centre 2005 Conference.  He has since featured the Thomson's pioneering work at the SEER Centre in his recently launched book "We Want Real Food."    He plainly states the case for improving our nation's health by improving the mineral content in our soils and reducing the application of chemicals to our land.   This is exactly what the SEER range of products is designed to do and his book will be available for sale on the stand.  

"We Want Real Food" has inspired farmers and gardeners throughout the UK to seek SEER Rockdust, products." states Moira Thomson, Co-founder of The SEER Centre. "The public has warmed to the simple, down-to-earth common sense of recycling and remineralisation to improve soil and crop quality to grow their own mineral-rich produce.   We are launching RockMIX and RockSOIL now after years of trials and as a result of heightened public demand. The SEER Trading Arm, Rockdust Ltd, was established in June 2005 to trade SEER Rockdust products and its profits are supporting the important environmental work of the SEER Centre Trust, Charity Number SCO 37139".

The Gardening Show 2006, with over 30,000 visitors expected, is held at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh and runs from Friday, 2^nd June to Sunday 4^th June.

FUTHER CONTACT DETAILS:

SEER CENTRE
SEER Centre, Ceanghline, Straloch Farm, Enochdhu, Perthshire  PH10 7PJ
Tel.  01250 870180,  www.seercentre.org.uk
Co-founders:  Cameron and Moira Thomson

ANGUS HORTICULUTRE LTD
Polmood, Guthrie, Forfar ANGUS DD8 2TW
Tel. 01241 829049,   www.angus-horticulutre.co.uk
Sales Director:  Alistair Ballantyne    Mobile:  07730 431273

FRM RECYCLING LTD
Seacliff Park,  North Berwick, EAST LOTHIAN  EH39 5PP
Tel. 0131 339 5554,   www.frmrecycling.co.uk
Managing Director:  Tommy Dale    Mobile:  07980 808997

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