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Are Your Fertilizers Poisoning You?

All things in moderation. As a kid/teenage I used DDT on potatoes to deal with bugs for years. Neither of my kids have three eyes or ears, two noses or more than five digits on each hand. I still use chemical ferts as well as organic ones in my growing. One thing I won't do is add molasses to compost tea - I did read that if used in hydro it can cause e. coli.

Mike
 
Yeah, but that's quite different from fertilizer manufacturers intentionally including toxic wastes in their product. Although, in today's world it's very difficult to avoid hazardous chemicals, even when going organic and using such things as composted manures. Think of all of the chems sprayed on and around cattle and horses of which some falls on the barn floor.
 
SS,

No offense, but I don't believe the sky is falling! I make my own compost, from left over food we eat, grass I mow, plants I raise, leaves from trees. And what is your source that says manufacturers are including toxic wastes in their product? Exactly what toxic waste and who has defined it as toxic? And why would they do this if their main goal is to sell fertilizer - so you don't think people would find out (probably from a competitor) that X's ferts had toxic waste? Give me a break, please.

Mike
 
A lot of people believe what they read without any research. just like the article about molasses, have been using it in my home made extracts for the last 6 years
guess what!! no e-coli. have also sprayed all veg & fruits with lacto made with molasses they taste good and sweet. please do more research to learn the truth. if anyone would like to learn to use Indigenious Microorganisms please ask. Alex
 
wordwiz said:
SS,

No offense, but I don't believe the sky is falling! I make my own compost, from left over food we eat, grass I mow, plants I raise, leaves from trees. And what is your source that says manufacturers are including toxic wastes in their product? Exactly what toxic waste and who has defined it as toxic? And why would they do this if their main goal is to sell fertilizer - so you don't think people would find out (probably from a competitor) that X's ferts had toxic waste? Give me a break, please.

Mike

There is no federal law that requires fertilizer companies to reveal their ingredients. Some of the ingredients found in fertilizers are recorded in the United States Environmental Protection Agency as health hazards, yet they are allowed in fertilizers. Fertilizer labeling laws in most states only require beneficial ingredients to be listed on the label leaving farmers and consumers unaware of which fertilizers contain toxic substances. Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and the more than two dozen other toxic metals and chemicals often found in fertilizers are not listed on the labels of the nation’s fertilizer products and they don’t have to be.

Most commercial fertilizers have 3 numbers on the front label, separated by dashes. For example: 5-10-5. This is the fertilizer analysis or percentage by weight of the 3 major nutrients plants need: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, in that order. These are abbreviated as N-P-K. So if you purchased a 10 pound bag of fertilizer labeled 5-10-5, it would contain 5% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus and 5% potassium. The remaining 80% could be comprised of other matter used as filler. This is what you have to really be aware of; you need to ask the question, ‘what IS the remaining 80%?’

How Hazardous Wastes Become Fertilizer. Seattle Times

Heavy metals and other toxins allowed in food through fertilizer. Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, A Global Industry, and A Toxic Secret

Fertilizers Endanger Us With Toxins. by David Monk

First Step Toward Labeling Toxins In Fertilizer -- Industry, Regulators To Address Use Of Waste Seattle Times

Today in the U.S., only a few states have started regulating the potentially unhealthy toxins in fertilizer. Washington is one state that has started testing fertilizers and you can view their Department of Agriculture's results of various manufacturer's fertilizer contents here. Arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead are just a few of the toxins you might find in your fertilizer and many are bio-accumulative toxins.
 
As stated the other is what bothers me. that why i started making all my own mix's at least i know what i'm mixing in to them. Here on the Islands everyone's very aware whats the put into the ground as it may end up killing fish. the rock we live on is very small 2600 hundred miles from the main land. a hole lot people eat the fish from these waters and a bunch of people make there living from what come's from the water.
 
I bet the air we breathe has more toxins than in fertilizers. Tuna has mercury, apple seeds have cyanide, the suns rays give us radiation, a cell phones microwaves penetrate as much as an inch into the brain yet everyone you see is constantly talking on them. Basically everything is slowly killing us.:shocked:
 
chillilover said:
Tuna has mercury, apple seeds have cyanide, the suns rays give us radiation, a cell phones microwaves penetrate as much as an inch into the brain yet everyone you see is constantly talking on them. Basically everything is slowly killing us.:shocked:

Does that make it OK to put toxic waste in products used by gardeners and farmers? Exactly where do you reckon the mercury in tuna come from?
 
MrArboc said:
Does that make it OK to put toxic waste in products used by gardeners and farmers? Exactly where do you reckon the mercury in tuna come from?

The government catching them and injecting it........:lol:
 
chillilover said:
The government catching them and injecting it........:lol:

Ever see pics of some of the toxic waste drums leaking at the bottom of the ocean. Folks have been dumping crap in the oceans for 100's of years, we just have much more dangerous wastes to dispose of today and folks that don't care where they put it. :(
 
I'm upset about this. Mercury is heavy and that means that the pound of fish I buy at the store is not really a pound of fish, but maybe 15 ounces of fish an an ounce of mercury.

But that pales in comparison to the dilemma I face with the raised bed project. It has lots of aged horse manure. The horses ate hay and oats that was probably grown in fields that were fertilized, meaning their manure is contaminated. And my "safe" compost tea - the corn, broccoli, onions and probably many other things that go into the bucket were grown using fertilizers so it is not safe to use anymore.

What's a guy to do? Maybe use yeast and water to fertilize the plants?

Mike
 
During a breast milk toxicity study, they took breast milk samples from all over the world, using the Eskimo's, that still live off of the land, as a base line for what breast milk 'should be'......come to find out, they were full of toxins from eating apex predators from the ocean. Heavy metals settle to the bottom, shellfish and whatnot are filter feeders, thus injesting the toxins, seals and fish eat the shell fish, which in turn are eatin by larger things, yadda yadda ya....and bam....mommy's milk is like breaking a termometer in the babies mouth.
 
A lot of people believe what they read without any research. just like the article about molasses, have been using it in my home made extracts for the last 6 years
guess what!! no e-coli. have also sprayed all veg & fruits with lacto made with molasses they taste good and sweet. please do more research to learn the truth. if anyone would like to learn to use Indigenious Microorganisms please ask. Alex


I totally agree with you. The Molasses causing E.Coli is the biggest load of BS I have heard in a long time. I have used it for years in my Tea, as well as in Hydro and never had a single problem. The only real problems with using it in Hydro is it can promote Root rot if done in to strong of an amount in to warm of water that isn't getting enough circulation and air mix. To me, that is more of a problem caused by the grower than it is from the molasses.
I use it as a Foliar spray, as well as a soil soak. Never a problem except for the occasional Ant Hordes that show up.
I learned it from my Grandma who has used Molasses on her entire garden since her mother taught it to her when she was a kid. They never had a problem either, and her gardens would make every one cry with how lush and productive they are.

It amazes me what people Parrot as fact on the internet. My guess would be who ever came up with the theory had some kind of E.Coli contamination already in something in their mix, and blamed it on the Molasses without knowing what it really was.
 
Just be aware that not all fertilizer is created with equal standards and shop smart.

Fertilizer content definitely needs to be regulated.

Good heads up SS! I'm as organic as I can be and headed for 100%.

There have been many articles about waste treatment sludge being used for fertilizer. Upon analysis they have found heavy metals and many other toxins that do in fact get into produce. These are facts and not PR for organic gardening; but it's pretty crazy not to pay attention to this; especially when one has control over the things one grows.
It would seem prudent to do the best one can with that which one can control and don't worry the rest. Cheers.
 
there has been a boom in organic farming in my country (thank god). and also a lot of the herbs and vegetables that couldn't be bought locally are slowly being introduced.

a boom in the culinary industry has been forcing farmers to diversify their crops with more "gourmet" vegetables.

but then the thread of monsanto is starting to loom in my country. it's not as bad here but still very scary.

as rice is a HUGE agricultural crop here, monsanto has been forcing itself into the local market. backed by the goverment too. which sucks. fertilizers and insecticides made by them. EVIL. gmo, EVIL. monsanto = evil.


i just hope diversification continues in my country.
 
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