Homestead mailing list

[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

In a message dated 1/27/2009 7:58:28 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
genegerue AT ruralize.com writes:


> >You did, so  
> here is what I suggest: put in under fruit trees and ornamentals where  
> it will not leach into your veggie growing soil. That is what I do  
> with my raw humanure, which I believe to be safe but I choose to err  
> on the side of caution.
> 

That's reasonable.  Until I know for sure, as sure as one can be in this 
mortal life, I wouldn't put anything on my garden either.  Things is, in this 
case,  a chemist, even a chemical aficionado, CAN be sure.

That is, the 'can't be sure' could be applied to absolutely anything if we 
took it far enough and then we'd never put anything on the garden.  I had one 
person tell me they'd never put horse manure on their garden because they 
heard 
horse people routinely give horses toxic wormers and they want no such goings 
on in their garden.  

I applaude the caution, but not the ignorance.  It behooves us then to find 
out, as much as we of common clay can do, to find out what the facts really 
are.   In this case the wormers are indeed toxic, to worms at least, and 
entirely 
organic so they don't even survive the horse's gut intact, much less rotting 
in the garden.

Besides the paper and adhesive, both of which are organic and good fodder for 
compost, USG made gypsum board is hydrated calcium sulfate.   Might they have 
snuk other things in there we don't know about?  Always possible, but then 
again that's equally possible for anything you might put on the garden.

James