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PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 9:42 am 
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I've noticed new brands of organic fertilzers being offered at places like Lowes. One in particular does not specifically list the origin of it's organic content. I think that is a by-product of waste water treatment (sludge) say in Houston. Question is, is this material considered organic or safe? I am concerned what people dump in the sewer.(literally)


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2003 10:34 am 
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See this thread in the Composting forum, as well as others which you can find by searching for terms like milorganite, dillo dirt, and sewage.

http://dirtdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1893

~Dave


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 12:21 am 
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Location: Prosper, TX
Sludge type fertilizers are allowed to have a certain amount of trace metals in them. I would not use these type products anywhere around your garden where you are growing food.

Mass merchandisers, Lowe's and Home Depot, have carried Milorganite for years. It use to be the only type of fertilizer that was not synthetic that they carried. Lowe's is dedicated to carrying a full line of Organic Products (47) in the State of Texas and the program is growing. The Organic Fertilizers stocked at Lowes are Bioform Dry and Weed Prevention Plus (CGM). Their ingredients are listed on the bag and both provide excellent results.


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 Post subject: sludge
PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 2:38 am 
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There are heavy metals in sludge.
Do we really need to use these products?
Robert D Bard


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:02 am 
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Is there research on microbes eleminating the worst toxins in the composting process? PCBs and other non-metal contaminants? I would like to think mother nature provided these organisms to clean things up but I'm unsure they can handle the synthetic chemicals we create and dump into our environment.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2003 7:50 pm 
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There are heavy metals in synthetic vitamin and mineral supplements. Those products would easily be banned from application to any farm or garden regardless of the organicity of the application. No way could they be recycled in a compost operation. But they do find their way into human sewage simply from the use in vitamins. Of course there are plating plants and chip manufacturers who might leak some metals into the sewer.

You should check it out for the Houston product, but I know that San Antonio monitors heavy metals coming into the treatment plants. If the waters test out of limits, they move upstream toward likely offenders and test again. They will find the culprits and fine the living sewage out of them and continue to fine them until the pollution stops.

For example, the notorious Coca Cola Bottling Plant was dumping evil expired and non-conforming product into the sewer. The excess sugar in the water was fouling the bio-filters in place at the treatment plants. Coke was fined $1,000 per day plus fees until they solved that horrendous problem. $1,000/day for sugar :shock: I wonder what the charge was for serious metals. :shock: :shock: Coke paid it for awhile but then found out that they could "dump" the waste into compost piles and recycle it completely. 8)

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 11:40 am 
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Check OMRI. http://www.omri.org/ They are the certifier of materials for organic production. Because it is NOT listed does not make it a bad product. If you sell as organic or are looking at certifying your crop you do need to be sure of everything you put onto your land.

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