Organic Fertilizer

[critterair2]

Covered 12 acres with dried sludge today, 1000lbs/acre. We'll see how it does, on our rye. Cost for 12 acres was less than 5 acres of 21-7-14 fertilizer. Now if we can keep the flies away, lol.

 

[LaneFarms]

Was the sludge pelletized?

 

[critterair2]

Yes, it was in a grannual form.

 

[MrBilly]

I would be very careful with using sludge. There were several cases in North Georgia where sludge was apparently associated with cattle deaths, etc http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/062603_sludge.cfm

I recall another case not mentioned in the above article where sludge was used on a farm but the sludge had high a mercury concentration in it. The land was condemned for anything but growing trees - forever.

May save money in the short run, but is it worth it in the long run?????? Our county will not allow sludge to be applied.

Billy

 

[gabby]

Sounds interesting. Where did you get it?

 

[Bluestem]

Sludge is not an approved fertilizer under organic production.

 

[critterair2]

I guess since its not approved I shouldn't use it huh, blue. How bout chicken litter is that approved? I can have it shipped in from over 100miles away that should be economical at 3.50/gallon. In our county the best resource for spreading services either herbicide, fertilizer etc, recommended it. He has been in the business 40 years, we have used him for years so I trust his opinion. Haven't heard about the possibility of cows dying thanks for the tip, i'll look into that, sure don't want that to happen.

 

[Bluestem]

I guess since its not approved I shouldn't use it huh, blue. How bout chicken litter is that approved? I can have it shipped in from over 100miles away that should be economical at 3.50/gallon. In our county the best resource for spreading services either herbicide, fertilizer etc, recommended it. He has been in the business 40 years, we have used him for years so I trust his opinion. Haven't heard about the possibility of cows dying thanks for the tip, i'll look into that, sure don't want that to happen.

Didn't mean to fill your bucket Use what ever you like. But for others that may be reading this thread, who might be considering the premiums paid in organic agriculture, So called organic sewer sludge is not approved. And for good reason, one of which is the concern for heavy metals. If I were to use it in an other type of agriculture production system I would not use it on a yearly basis.

 

[rmcva]

Covered 12 acres with dried sludge today, 1000lbs/acre. We'll see how it does, on our rye. Cost for 12 acres was less than 5 acres of 21-7-14 fertilizer. Now if we can keep the flies away, lol.

One company I worked for in the past, pelletized sludge. It all went to the land fill because of dye and color used in the product. The process we used to pelletize was pretty hot. Used a 2.5 million BTU gas burner to remove all moisture. Stuff was hard as a rock when it came out as pellets. Before the new machine we'd send 7 tons a day to the landfill. Once pelletized we'd send 3 tons per week.

I talked to a guy down near Amelia Va, several weeks ago and this subject came up. Some tried pelletized sludge last year and the pellets were as big as your thumb. They had problems with big wheel rakes pulling the pellets in the windrow and then it wound up in the bales. The machine I worked on made vary small pellets and wouldn't cause that problem.

You can send a sample to check for heavy metals. There's several waste treatment plants in our area that claim to have that situation under control. I'd test it. On the other hand I expect if you check regular fertilizer you'd find heavy metals as well.

 

[MrBilly]

I guess since its not approved I shouldn't use it huh, blue. How bout chicken litter is that approved? I can have it shipped in from over 100miles away that should be economical at 3.50/gallon. In our county the best resource for spreading services either herbicide, fertilizer etc, recommended it. He has been in the business 40 years, we have used him for years so I trust his opinion. Haven't heard about the possibility of cows dying thanks for the tip, i'll look into that, sure don't want that to happen.

I would think the problems with sludge are more with who you buy from and what controls they have and what tests they do to make sure that heavy metals etc are controlled. But just think of what people dump down the toilet. The possibilities are infinite and there is no way anyone could test for all the crap, pun not intended, that could be in the sludge. Having said that, I still wouldn't trust my land and cattle health to this kind of stuff. You can get hydrolized fish that I believe is rated for organic and comes from deep water fish - of course our oceans are now being contaminated by China and other nations dumping unprocessed effluent into the sea.
Billy

 

[simangus23]

I do know that chicken litter is considered Organic but you need to be careful about Phosphorus buildup over time.. You want organic fertilizer head to Midwest Bio AG


SImangus

 

[heaflaw]

I have been having sludge spread on pasture and hay land for free for several years, as had a neighbor of mine. It is spread as a wet solid(not pellitized). They spread about 8 or 10 acres a year and will go over the same ground about every 6 years. The company tests for lime and spreads it for free if it's below 6.0. I get a copy of the test for nutrients and metals every time it's spread. Trace metals are always less than 1/100th of what North Carolina says is acceptable. With covering the same land every 5 or 6 years, it will be a very long time before I have to be concerned about a toxic build up of heavy metals. Before the land was accepted, NC did extensive testing. Agronomists with NC Dept of Agr. that I have talked with think it's a great use of a product that would otherwise have to be put in a landfill.

In my opinion, it is far better than commercial fertilizer. The company that spreads says it releases 1/2 of the nitrogen in the first year and the rest over the next 2 years. I believe they are right.

There are 2 drawbacks that I see. The first is that it contains some antibiotics. That is not tested for(maybe it can't be). My understanding is that that is the reason it cannot be used in a certified organic operation.

The second drawback is that it stinks like S___. I'm not as popular in my neighborhood as I used to be.

 

[novatech]

At the predicted price of fertilizer we may all be going in the chicken business just to get the byproduct. Besides that I like chicken soup and fried eggs. ;-)

 

[dun]

At the predicted price of fertilizer we may all be going in the chicken business just to get the byproduct. Besides that I like chicken soup and fried eggs. ;-)

At an auction saturday they sold year old chickens for 14 bucks a head. Don;t think I could afford to get into chickens in a big way.

 

[Arkieman]

What's the drawback to using chicken litter? Guessing it's considerably cheaper than petro-based fert. Wondered why everyone wasn't using it?

 

[novatech]

Around here you need to have permit. Also it can only be applied with a subsoiler. Lots of paper work.

 

[simangus23]

WELCOME TO LIFE USING REAL FERTILIZER LIKE EVERYONE ELSE --- SEE YA DOWN AT THE BANK SOON

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I have been having sludge spread on pasture and hay land for free for several years, as had a neighbor of mine. It is spread as a wet solid(not pellitized). They spread about 8 or 10 acres a year and will go over the same ground about every 6 years. The company tests for lime and spreads it for free if it's below 6.0. I get a copy of the test for nutrients and metals every time it's spread. Trace metals are always less than 1/100th of what North Carolina says is acceptable. With covering the same land every 5 or 6 years, it will be a very long time before I have to be concerned about a toxic build up of heavy metals. Before the land was accepted, NC did extensive testing. Agronomists with NC Dept of Agr. that I have talked with think it's a great use of a product that would otherwise have to be put in a landfill.

In my opinion, it is far better than commercial fertilizer. The company that spreads says it releases 1/2 of the nitrogen in the first year and the rest over the next 2 years. I believe they are right.

There are 2 drawbacks that I see. The first is that it contains some antibiotics. That is not tested for(maybe it can't be). My understanding is that that is the reason it cannot be used in a certified organic operation.

The second drawback is that it stinks like S___. I'm not as popular in my neighborhood as I used to be.

what about other drug's like meth and cocaine. i heard awile back were a experiment was done. checking a sewer system in a neighborhood that one teaspoon of water from it contained 11 different drugs including caffeine

 

[TexasBred]

My brother use to be public works director in a small town. He would go down to the sewer treatment plant and pick him a mess of tomatoes, squash, corn,watermelons, cantelopes and quiet a few other vegetables in the summer. Would also find an occasional marijuana plant growing as well.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

My brother use to be public works director in a small town. He would go down to the sewer treatment plant and pick him a mess of tomatoes, squash, corn,watermelons, cantelopes and quiet a few other vegetables in the summer. Would also find an occasional marijuana plant growing as well.

boy the mental visual i got going on right now :| aint pretty, sorta like the tomatoe plant growin wild outside the outhouse. looks great but know'in where it came from just ruint it :lol: .