Artificial soil

Abstract

A composition comprising silicate, one or more humate and / or fulvate, and one or more divalent metal ions. The composition may be an artificial soil and can be made by extracting the humate and / or fulvate from a natural source (e.g. leonardite or compost), preferably by an acid-base reaction in the presence of water. Preferably the silicate is from natural rock, clay or basalt, and preferably comprises a phyllosilicate such as bentonite. The divalent metal ions may comprise zinc, zirconium, iron, scandium, yttrium, lanthanum or calcium. The composition may further comprise water, rock (e.g. basalt or granite), organic matter, fauna and microorganisms. (Figure 10)