[Community_garden] Yard waste compost is #1

Tue Mar 18 13:26:43 EDT 2008

Yow--don't you DARE dis yard waste compost!
    Study after study has shown that one to two inches applied overtop or 
worked into the soil provides every nutrient necessary for excellent plant 
growth. It and mostly it alone has fueled my veggie garden, orchard, 
raspberries, flowers, etc for over 20 years at this less-than-ideal 
situation in cool and shady PA. And its done the same for thousands of 
others--including farmers (who don't grow bonsai--wise guy).
    Experts like Drs. Harry Hoitink and Dan Herms at Ohio State have time 
and time again run studies showing its the absolute best compost for home 
use. As have many other academics.
    And for God's sake--it's essentially what grew our hardwood and conifer 
forests, fields of wildflowers, native grasses and every other plant on the 
planet for untold millennia.
    Shame on you, Sir!
                                                ----Mike McG
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Darrol Shillingburg" <darrols at earthlink.net>
To: "Don Boekelheide" <dboekelheide at yahoo.com>
Cc: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Biosolids and municipal composts


> Don,
> I'm personally glad to see your entry into the muck - perhaps a
> reframing of the "yes it is, no it isn't" trend of the discussion will
> help carry it into something ultimately useful. I am an extension
> service master gardener in southern New Mexico where we have available
> multiple sources of composted/compostable materials including muni yard
> waste compost and class A plus biosolids. Even among a group of 40 or so
> trained and interested gardeners there seems to be more myth and belief
> about compost than thoughtful science or art - and I agree with you
> about the element of art in the process.
>
> I also agree that muni waste streams are valuable organic materials and
> nutrients that need to be recycled - but in ways that are appropriate
> both short and long term. For example, recommending that home gardeners
> use municipal yard waste compost to grow food is a gross disservice if
> they wish for more than bonsai rutabagas in the short run. In cases
> where personal food growing is more than recreational - as in depending
> on the same soil for healthy food and body long term - then biosolids as
> a source of organic material and nutrients needs to be evaluated on more
> than short term results, trust in the "system" and personal beliefs.
>
> Looking forward to further discussion - if there is anywhere left to go.
> I remain a NIMBY until convinced that microbes can indeed clean up man's
> collective messes.
>
> regards,
>
> Darrol
>
>
> Don Boekelheide wrote:
>> While I was yacking on about boxes, there was a much more important 
>> discussion on this list about biosolid composts, municipal yard waste 
>> composts, and their place in community food gardens.
>>
>> I'm heartened by the discussion, which seems very well informed. Before 
>> saying much, I want to take a second look at the posts. But it is a 
>> fundamental question all of us in urban agriculture need to deal with.
>>
>> Two quick points. I've worked closely with County Solid Waste here for 
>> more than a decade, helping to set up a home composting training program 
>> and a Master Composter program. It's been very interesting. In a way, I'm 
>> reminded of the certified organic movement that has given us "USDA 
>> organic" and corporate organic farming, with all the pros and cons. Our 
>> culture is highly influenced by 'the market' and success is determined by 
>> viability in the marketplace. In short, we instinctively "push" and 
>> "market" our product (or program), even public employees in a waste 
>> disposal department. This can make objective discussion of realities and 
>> costs/benefits highly charged and sometimes misleading.
>>
>> Second, practically speaking, composting is still more art than science, 
>> because of the enormous complexity of the materials, processes and 
>> organisms involved; the potential for unanticipated contaminants to enter 
>> the system; and uncontrollable variations in feed stock, weather, water, 
>> human behavior etc.
>>
>> Practical example: At a school project I once worked on, we got a big 
>> load of biosolid-based compost that stunk to high heaven. You _know_ what 
>> it smelled like. When parents got wind of it, the howls of protest 
>> probably reached the Pacific. The purchasing agent at the school had 
>> thought 'compost is compost' and purchased accordingly. Gardeners live in 
>> the real world - listen to the engineers and give their arguments  and 
>> evidence a fair hearing, but always use your nose.
>>
>> I note Tacoma with interest, a center of problems with clopyralid 
>> contamination in yard waste compost, a pesticide that did not break down 
>> even with a well-run composting operation. I wonder if that legacy is 
>> partly behind solid waste officials' interest in TAGRO (biosolid compost 
>> for sale, following the lead of Milorganite). I've seen political tussles 
>> between the yard waste compost 'side' (more ag engineering background) 
>> and the biosolids 'side' (more civil engineers/solid waste manager 
>> background) both locally and at Composting Council - here, the two 
>> 'sides' don't seem to communicate or cooperate all that much. Who knows, 
>> I might be full of biosolids with my pop sociology, here - the point is 
>> that, whatever the science involved, politics and economics also 
>> influence decisions and justifications. We are not simply members of the 
>> public, we're consumers, and our choice of whether or not to use a 
>> publicly produced product such as biosolid compost can
>>  make or break careers and reputations.
>>
>> Don
>> http://urbanministrygarden.wordpress.com
>>
>>
>>
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