[Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts

Tue Mar 18 16:59:23 EDT 2008

Does anyone remember the play,  "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon 
Marigolds?"
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kristen McIvor" <kristenmcivor at mac.com>
To: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts


> 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
>>
>>
>
>
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