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  • From: Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Organic and us
  • Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:08:35 -0700

Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:

What has been happening for several years now to pave the way for WalMart to

mass market cheap organic produce is a gradual weakening or the definition of 'organic', not that the USDA definition isn't weak enough already.
Back in the unshaven hippie days of organic food a pile of manure was a good sign and chemical nitrates were completely verboden! Now the manure pile does not qualify as organic unless it is turned and mixed in a very certain unproductive way which is out of the reach of small producers. Yet chemical nitrate is permitted since you COULD be using imported and expensive bat guano; but chemical nitrate produced from fossil fuel is CHEMICALLY the same thing so it's OK to use it (up to 20% of total nitrogen).

My impression is that standards are much stricter than they used to be. It's easy to find the evidence of that. Peaceful Valley, a major supplier of organic growers, totally dropped things like manganese dioxide (a natural mineral) and chelated iron (like people take in pill form) several years ago when the new organic standards came about. I can't find any example of chemical nitrate in their catalog.

I couldn't find the post I wanted to quote. You were saying that it couldn't be any good unless there were dozens of compost bins. I think that direct manuring is probably one method they might use to circumvent the composting process. This is in short supply, though, compared to the number of potential farms, so those who have a source are locked into position and have a vested interest in limiting other acceptable ferilizers.

But even that should be no problem for the resourceful. For years I got along on free cedar-chip crap (which does little harm if you don't use too much, and actually gives some impression of good tilth), and the all-important alfalfa. I find alfalfa pellets from a #50 bag to be very economical as a fertilizer, once they're soaked in water and fall apart. They release ferilizer at a fairly-slow rate, and the contain all the trace minerals a crop needs. I never turned my head once for anything as crazy as bat guano or earthworm castings once I discovered alfalfa.

Bill




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