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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Planting medium

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  • From: Hélène Dessureault <interverbis@videotron.ca>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Planting medium
  • Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 10:00:07 -0400

Hi Tanis,
If you are environmentally concern about your space, you have to be very
careful these days with bagged potting soil as some of it contains compost
made from sewage sludge. For some reason, it is allowed the use of the word
ORGANIC which leads people to think that it is organic in the sense that has
become a label of quality and inoccuity.
Actually, it is an organic material, which happens to contain everything
which people and industries discard. Without getting into too much details,
it contains all the chemicals, the cleaning agents, the medecine which
people use and many more harmful substance... in concentrated quantity.
Reportedly, it can also contains bacterias, which can be reawaken given
ideal conditions....
After being made aware of this question by watching a debate between
environmental groups and the government representatives (Quebec government
in this case), I went around the various nurseries to check on labels and
was appalled to discover many many bags of potting soils of various brand
name and doubtful composition, labelled ORGANIC materials, biosols or
biosolids, other words to describe dried composted sewage waste.
It stands to reason that the recycling industry would find profitable to
recycle a waste material which must exists in very large quantity. What I am
upset about is the attempt to disguise this waste into something which
people are known to consider safe and that will actually fetch a higher
price because people think it is better.
There is even a certification organization of some sort, to further the
impression that it is really OK. Some institute on the West Coast, Oregon, I
think. I checked their Web site, when I came home from my excursion in the
world of ORGANIC bagged potting soil and garden mix and was not impressed...
I don't remember the name of the institute, but the acronym is a four letter
word ending with MI.

We have become convinced that ORGANIC is safe and better and now we have to
revisit this notion again, unfortunately.
(I ruined the peace of mind of organic friends recently with this subject
and had resolved to keep this subject on the back burner until I got the
overwhelming urge again to bring it up, just now, sorry folks .
The practice of fertilizing fields with the stuff has been banned in
Switzerland and is now stopped in France, once it was discovered that the
soil becomes extremely contaminated after a few years, and earth worms won't
even live in it many years after. It is becoming widely used as a field
fertilizer in North America at the moment....


Hélène, in Québec province, north of Ottawa where the season seems almost
two weeks ahead of schedule.

----- Original Message -----
From: "tanis cuff" <tanistanis@hotmail.com>
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 6:22 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Delicate seedling planting medium


> What is the brand name of the common commercial stuff-- MetroMix? I think
> this is what I got. The bag I got was mostly fine peatmoss & composted
> bark, w/ a little vermiculite. I sifted it thru 1/4" screen for use w/
> Amelanchier & Ribes. Ribes are fairly delicate seedlings, doing well, and
> very tiny fine weeds seem to grow OK in it! My problem has been the
various
> attritions of critters, hail, heavy rain, wind, etc as the season
> progresses. Another thought is to go see what soil the parent trees are
in,
> and try to find a potting mix similar to that.
>
> You have sprouted these seeds on paper towel or other artificial
situation?
> The main problem will be transfering them to the potting mix without
> damaging them. I'd bet this will be more important than which potting mix
> you use.
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Charles Paradise <>
> To: North American Fruit Explorers <>
> Subject: [NAFEX] Delicate seedling planting medium
> Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 17:12:58 -0400
>
> I had never got any seed to grow from two Alders I was attempting to get
an
> interspecies cross from - I believe the species were Alnus Obligifolia and
> Alnus Manshurica [pardon any spelling mistakes] - and I cut both trees
down
> this spring - but I gathered seed in fall - kept at room temperature -
> planted in spagnum moss this spring - and to my surprise now have one
> germinated. I had numerous times before cold-wet stratified seed with
never
> germination. This is an extremely small + delicate seedling and wish to
ask
> opinions as to best medium to plant into for best chance survival. My
> thoughts are: 1] more long-strand moss 2] peat moss 3] Miracle-Grow
potting
> ng mix 4] _________you suggest.
>
>
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