North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Bob Melvin <hasnah8@yahoo.com>]

Regarding the second paragraph of Jim Fruth's message below my reply:

     I was not recommending sewage sludge, I was merely saying that I
had used it some, and had helped add it to my cousin's garden soil many
years ago.  In fact it has been almost exactly 35 years since we did
that.  Something that I would certainly not do these days would be to
eat root vegetables grown in soil that has received sewage sludge,
although we did just that 35 years ago!  The recent scare with the
tainted spinach sent me to the Internet looking into the Escherichia
coli strain that had caused the illnesses and death.  I had no idea
that that pathogenic strain was so wide-spread.  My late mother was
finicky about cleanliness, and now, so am I!

     I must add that my cousin who used the sludge has always had
excellent health.  He is truly a health advocate!  (He is Dr. A.J.
Bullard and has been very active in NAFEX matters.  I'm sure many
members know him.)

--"Bob Melvin" <hasnah8@yahoo.com>, <rfmelvin@ncsu.edu>
Ph. 919-215-2814  (Anyone may call at any time.)


Message: 6
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:59:42 -0500
From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>
Subject: [NAFEX] Trace elementsr
To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <007b01c6f846$355eeb10$7479de42@ibma20plaptop>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
        reply-type=original

    Some time ago (back when I didn't know any better?), I let someone 
convince me to apply greensand because of its ability to release 
potassium (potash) slowly.  I have an area that gets flooded with each
heavy rain and potassium leaches out quickly.  I'm of a cautious nature
when it comes to my garden so I spread the greensand over only a small
area.  When I got my next soil test back, I learned what the greensand
seller didn't tell me; had I had any sense, I would have investigated
it thoroughly before using it.  That area now has 2000+ ppm of
manganese, about 100 times more than recommended.  What's more is that
it is in anionic form (available to plants), unlike the potassium that
is chemically bound.  The 'book' would say that anything growing there
would be adversely affected, but no, I don't see any major, on going
problems.

    As for spreading sludge, that is a definite no - no.  Don't do 
it!(!)  Whether municipal or industrial, sludge has a concentrated
amount of heavy metals.  Many (most?) plants absorb heavy metals and
youcould get an unsafe amount in your diet, not unlike the many
warnings to not eat fish because of mercury build-up within the bodies
of the fish.  >The solution to pollution is dilution<  Around here,
sludge, and septic tank waste, is spread on agricultural lands, hay
fields mostly.  The cows eat the hay and we eat the cows; European
farmers have been doing this for 'eons' with no (apparent) ill effect.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]


 
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