[Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts

Tue Mar 18 14:17:45 EDT 2008

Again, thanks to all for contributing to the conversation biosolids.

First, a disclaimer - I am an organic food person - spending more  
than I probably should to support organic whenever possible.  I was  
also a skeptic when I found out about TAGRO, it took many months and  
many conversations, with both the scientists and those involved in  
creating it, before I ordered 6 yards of it for my own home.

After using it for a couple years now, I must say, I have never  
before seen soil so healthy, and certainly in my gardening life,  
never had such big, healthy plants, as I do with TAGRO.  While I am  
still a scientist and an organic food person, nothing convinced me of  
it's value quite like using it myself.

I can't speak to the biosolids program in your town, but TAGRO has  
been managed from the beginning by mostly the same group of people.   
They happen to be passionate gardeners, who every year plant a large  
demonstration garden at the treatment plant and donate vast amounts  
of produce to food banks and other meal sites throughout the season.   
They have worked hard to reduce odor, take pride in the product they  
hand out to people, and have over the years built up a large,  
passionate, grassroots following who get very upset if demand  
outpaces supply and it becomes unavailable.

In the early days, it was given out to whomever wanted to come pick  
it up, and sprayed on agricultural land. It is still sprayed in  
liquid form, but demand is so high that not all who want it can get  
it.   These are farmers in the area who have been using it for  
decades and still line up to have some applied to their property.   
The dewatered form was initially given out for free to those who  
wanted it, but over the years, demand rose enough that they began to  
charge for it, and now have a fleet of 5 delivery trucks that stay  
busy throughout the growing season, delivering it to people for a  
price.  It is still available for free to those who come shovel it  
themselves, and I have seen people form lines to shovel their pickup  
trucks full - and then come back and do it again.

As someone who works to promote urban agriculture, and the idea of  
producing as much food as possible in urban areas, TAGRO is a  
wonderful resource.  Low-income gardeners can get it for free, and  
grow a heck of a lot of food in a very small space, and beginning  
gardeners can have a lot of success their first year.  In Tacoma, the  
urban gardening movement is filled with a lot of young, enthusiastic  
foodies who have never gardened before.  TAGRO saves them a lot of  
struggle as they learn to manage soil and plants and grow food in  
cities.

Washington State University - Extension runs a program that promotes  
nutrition in elementary schools through gardens....all 20 schools in  
the Pierce County program applied TAGRO to their gardens this year,  
to the smiles and applause of administrators and educators.

The idea of municipal biosolids can offend the organic sensibilities  
of some, and yes, we live in a dirty world.  But permaculture (and  
ecology) tells us to turn waste products into resources.  They have  
been doing it in Tacoma for years, and as our planet gets smaller and  
smaller, I hope more cities around the country (and world) catch on.

Kristen
On Mar 18, 2008, at 9:01am, community_garden- 
request at list.communitygarden.org wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Biosolids and municipal composts (Don Boekelheide)
>    2. Re: Sandbag that garden! - And retreads... (Mike McGrath)
>
>
> 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
>
>