Absolutely Karen, caution is warranted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...

Interesting vids, second one may be applicable to stem strength,
Would like to see some univ studies
Probably having a soil test done with specific mineral needs would be in order.

When I spread the granular stuff there was no fluffing in the air. This new stuff is very fine so I agree some caution in protecting your lungs is adviseable.

I also ordered from a place down south. You think shipping within the contiguous 48 is expensive! Try shipping to Alaska. Anyway the price of the stuff was way less than the shipping if I used my own address. And I don't have Amazon Prime but even regular Amazon will ship for free to the lower 48 if you purchase the right $$. So I ship to Oregon for free then transship to Alaska USPS. Still spendy but no where near the UPS or God forbid FedEx prices. But I did use up 44# between my peonies and the botanical garden peonies. I need to get more for the spring but for right now I need to recover from the sticker shock of this summer's purchases.

Interesting videos.
It may be that the rock dust needs to be in the soil for several years before any results are seen. It may take awhile for it to break down.
The guy does point out that the sample size is small.
We need to see similar research from many studies, by different people and labs.

On the silica and alumina---- soils contain these already.

Tracey, I got my bags of Azomite for $30.50 each.

When I apply the Azomite, I mix it with composted manure in my garage, before I apply it to the plants, and I haven't had any problems with it. It is a great idea to use a face mask when using it.

This discussion of Azomite supports the concept that a particular plant can deplete particular nutrients over time. One plant may need a different group of nutrients than another plant. Which brings me back to the original concept of replanting the same plant in the same area instead of "crop rotation". Planting iris in a past peony area and peonies in the iris area will usually provide the best results over replanting them in their same area. It also helps to reduce diseases. As far as time to activate the Azomite, it should take much longer than normal fertilizer. Lime, bone meal, and sulfur can require at least a couple of years, depending upon the type and how it has been processed. Any product which adds safe, trace or micro-nutrients to the soil will pay dividends in the end.

So what I am doing today with fertilizer, compost, minerals will take years to show a difference?

Good composted material should be already broken down for plant nutrients. Standard farm fertilizer such as 12-12-12 is supposed to require at least a month to break down. Stone, on the other hand, could take years to decompose. I checked a couple of websites for the timing for Azomite but could not find any info. Slow release of nutrients is generally always better than quick release. I just sprinkle 2 or 3 tablespoons of Miracle-Gro around the drip line of my peonies and let the rain leach it into the soil. That turns the quick release into slow release and saves me a major PITA worrying if I burned the roots or not. It is about $5 per pound so it could become expensive in a large garden.

The only info I could find about aging Azomite is it depends upon the amount of microbial activity present in the soil. Earthworms and various microbes essentially convert the powdered stone into plant nutrients.

Huh. Well I should be good then because I have myriads of large earthworms in my garden and tons of the tiny guys. Red wigglers I guess they are called. My big mistake is in not measuring very well. I did use a small cup when I was putting the azomite and bulb fertilizer out to just assure that my 'handful' measurements didn't get out of hand.

So after all that fertilizing and azomite'ing' in the fall, it is still recommended to do a fertilizing in the spring also?