10 Tips for Using Shungite in Your Garden
Valerie Burke
Shungite is well known for protecting your home and body from EMFs — but its benefits extend far beyond your walls. Used in soil, water, and outdoor structures, shungite can support plant health, soil quality, wildlife, and even bee colonies. Here are 10 practical ways to bring shungite into your yard and garden.
By now, you are probably familiar with the myriad of ways shungite can be used inside your home or office to protect your health, but have you considered using it in your yard or garden?
Back in 2020, amidst a global pandemic, I bought a house and moved. It felt like a bold endeavor indeed, but all things considered, it has been a huge blessing from the Universe. The house serves as my residence as well as the headquarters for Shungite Queen. Until then, I had lived in a series of apartments and condos with no yard — just small decks and balconies. Suddenly I had three yards!
I began to ponder how to use shungite in the landscape to support the environment and wildlife with whom I share my special little corner of the world.
How Does Shungite Benefit Plants and Soil?
Shungite is being used environmentally in a variety of ways. For example, it has been used in Fukushima to help cleanse water of radiation.
In Russia, shungite has long been harnessed for water purification, but a lesser-known application is its use in agriculture. Shungite powder can be added as a soil amendment to improve soil quality and crop yield, with the carbon, minerals and other elements contributing valuable nutrients to the plants.
Shungite also helps remove agricultural chemicals from the soil, such as herbicides, pesticides and heavy metals, and improves soil’s capacity for water retention. It also helps build a healthy soil microbiome, discouraging the growth of pathogenic bacteria and allowing beneficial microbes to flourish.
In Regina Marino’s book about Shungite, she refers to a French study by Jean Michael Pasternak and Claude Bernard about the benefits of shungite for plants. The researchers concluded that shungite vastly improved the overall health of plants resulting in more vibrant colors, increased growth, and resistance to blight and dryness. The plants developed stronger root systems, which reinforced their natural defenses and resistance to parasites. The benefits were especially pronounced with fruit trees.
In general, Russian applications for enhancing soil fertility involve using 10 grams of shungite powder per square meter.
10 Ways to Use Shungite in Your Yard and Garden
Here are 10 tips for how you can use shungite in your own yard and garden.
- Rain Gardens: In 2021, I checked off one item from my Bucket List: a rain garden! I had one designed and built by a talented local eco-landscaper. Since the primary purpose of a rain garden (besides beauty) is to filter out toxins and impurities in runoff thereby reducing the environmental toxic load, I added some shungite to the rain garden to assist the plants with their efforts. You can’t really see the shungite, but here are some photos of my beautiful little Pacific Northwest rain garden.
- Catios, doghouses, barns and stables: Place some raw shungite in or around structures to protect pets. We built a cat run and catio so that Rumi and Rishi could enjoy the yard safely — which is especially important for Rishi, being completely blind. I placed a few pieces of black shungite in nooks and crannies of the catio.
- Bird baths: Add a few elite pebbles to a bird bath to help reduce bacterial and fungal growth. Be sure to provide fresh, clean water often — the birds don’t like drinking dirty water any more than we do!
- Shungite beekeeping: Shungite has been shown to cause bees to thrive, expand, and even prevent or reverse colony collapse disorder (CCD). Bees with shungite around their hives are healthier, more resilient, less diseased, and their hives expand by an enormous amount. Shungite pieces can be added to the entrance, or the hive can be painted with shungite-containing paint. Shungite beekeepers report not requiring any of the usual chemicals to keep the bees healthy, and no mites to deal with. Here’s a nice interview about shungite beekeeping with Derek Condit.
- Toad house: Place a little chunk of shungite in front of or inside a toad house to protect the amphibian house-dwellers.
- Vegetable and flower gardens: There are many shungite powder uses for the garden! Mix shungite powder or chips into the bed for stunning flowers and a bountiful harvest.
- Fruit trees: Water trees with shungite water and/or spread shungite powder or chips at the base. You can even amend the soil with shungite when planting. The recommended ratio is 7 grams shungite powder per 1 liter of water, then let it sit for 3 days before using it to water trees and other plants. (Note: this is different from shungite drinking water, which uses only elite (type 1) shungite. For plants, it is safe to use black (type 2) shungite.)
- Indoor potted plants: As above, water with shungite water.
- Flower vase: Use shungite water to extend the life of cut flowers.
- “Retired” Elite Shungite Water Stones: I replace my elite shungite stones in my shungite drinking water dispenser every 12 to 18 months. Then I incorporate the retired stones into the garden when the fresh ones go into my water dispenser.
These are just a few suggestions — I’m sure you can think of others! The sky is the limit when it comes to shungite.
Ready to bring shungite into your garden? Explore our Shungite for Yard & Garden collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can shungite be used in the garden?
Yes! Shungite can be used in gardens in several ways — as a soil amendment to improve plant health and crop yield, mixed into garden beds as powder or chips, added to rain gardens to support water filtration, and used to make shungite water for watering plants and trees.
How does shungite benefit plants and soil?
Shungite improves soil quality by contributing carbon, minerals, and other nutrients. It helps remove agricultural chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metals, improves water retention, and supports a healthy soil microbiome by discouraging pathogenic bacteria while allowing beneficial microbes to flourish.
How do you make shungite water for plants?
Mix 7 grams of shungite powder per 1 liter of water and let it sit for 3 days before using it to water trees and plants. For garden use, black (type 2) shungite is safe and effective — unlike shungite drinking water, which requires elite (type 1) shungite only.
Can shungite help bees and bee colonies?
Yes — shungite has been shown to help bee colonies thrive and expand, and may even prevent or reverse colony collapse disorder (CCD). Shungite pieces can be placed at the hive entrance, or the hive can be painted with shungite-containing paint. Beekeepers report healthier bees with no need for chemical treatments.
What is the best shungite to use in the garden?
Black (type 2) shungite in powder or chip form is ideal for garden use. Shungite powder can be mixed directly into soil at a rate of about 10 grams per square meter. Elite (type 1) shungite stones that have been retired from water filtration duty can also be repurposed in the garden.