Q: About other weird soil constituents.

A: There are other soil components that I occasionally see being used. Clay kitty litter, aquatic plant soil, trichoderma powder, ground up bugs (really), chunks of serpentinite, chunks of calcite, pine needles, oak leaves, aragonite sand, and the blood of virgins, are but a few.

Sometimes I think they may be onto something, sometimes not. But a discussion of these things really don't fall into the purview of a FAQ.

Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; personal observation.