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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Planting medium

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  • From: tanis grif <tanisgrif@yahoo.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Planting medium
  • Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 07:15:44 -0700 (PDT)

Good stuff. I didn't know sewage sludge could be distributed w/o notice at
least in
a label's fine print. And a big 'yuck' because I always end up potting with
bare
hands. I too recall hearing about that Oregon group trying to get better
labelling
for fertilizers. (Sorry-- I can't remember their name either.) I didn't
know this
same concept covered potting mixes too.

Yes I recall this being on the listserv in past. The issue w/ the fertilizers
is the
bulk part-- it can be any of a number of fairly toxic waste products, but
doesn't
have to be listed on the label.


--- Hélène Dessureault <> wrote:

> 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.


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