Some of you may remember that I'd written to the list about a problem that
I had that I perceived to be a result of having inadvertently poisoned my
own soil by using, I speculated, contaminated wheatstraw mulch on my fall
garden. That was the only idea that made any sense to me.
The seedlings I set out (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale) grew only
slightly before they turned various shades of magenta and pale yellow, with
some remaining green leaves (tho certainly not a lush green). The mixture
of seeds I planted (rape, mustard, kale, turnip) sprouted and grew well up
to the seedling stage when they did exactly the same. All plants were
permanently stunted at seedling size.
I subsequently ordered both a soil test and a tissue sample test. The soil
test revealed rather high pH at 7.20. The tissue analysis showed extremely
low N at 1.61 (on beds on which there'd been a new addition of at least 1"
of compost!!), and extremely high AL (316 ppm) and Fe (372 ppm).
I had guessed (probably incorrectly, according to Joel) that the wheatstraw
had been contaminated with 2,4-D, which my extension agent says is
routinely used on wheatstraw.
I did not opt to have the $100 soil test done that would test for only 8 or
9 of the older contaminants. It just didn't seem worth the money since it
still might not be conclusive.
It finally occurred to me, however, that I could run the much less
expensive tissue sample test on the wheatstraw I'd subsequently taken off
my beds, and so I did. I also did a soil test on my currently ready
compost, to see make sure it is useable. The new compost looks fine -- pH
of 6.0, very high P, K Ca and High Mg, with sufficient Zn and Mg.
The tissue sample on the wheatstraw revealed N of 0.76% (don't know if
that's unsual for a "brown" but probably not), Mn of 131 ppm, Fe of 330
ppm, and Al of 404 ppm, and perfectly normal levels of B, Cu and Zn.
As far as I'm concerned, with these extremely high levels of Fe and AL,
I've pretty much proven to myself that my original theory is correct, that
the wheatstraw is indeed contaminated with something pretty awful. I wish I
could find out what, but I don't have much hope of that at this point.
A personal note: I know that those who responded to my original post were
trying to be helpful, but what was NOT helpful was the complete and utter
dismissal of my own "theory" on the subject. Overwhelmingly, those who
responded insisted that it had to be this or that nutrient deficiency or
excess (well, I suppose skyrocketing non-native Al and Fe could be
considered nutrient excesses, couldn't they?) and no one (at least no one
that I can recall) bothered to take my assessment into consideration and
were dismissive of my knowledge (limited tho it may be), experience
(ditto), and first-hand, on-site observations and actions (such as being
able to build a decent, Nitrogen-rich compost). This attitude was not only,
as I said, unhelpful, but insulting as well.
To others who look to this list for help in gaining additional insight into
or solving their own mysterious problems, I would say this: There have been
people who've gotten wonderful assistance here, but not in every case is
the advice or insight given appropriate or correct. So first and foremost
TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCTS (and experience, and knowledge, however limited
yours too may be) and don't necessarily give the experts here undue
authority in a situation you, and only you, know best.
Patricia
Zone 7b, West Georgia
A vicious herbicide that's used on grain now is Clopyralid, a Dow chemical
product. I don't know whether it could have contaminated your straw, but
it's persisting at least three years and putting composters out of
business. Margaret L
I talked w/ the folks at San DIego' Muni composting facility...they test
every two weeks for this and that, and it - clopyralid-is showing up ,tho
the concentrations aren't very high...( they don't have to be to cause
damage).
They stated that alot of golfcourses around southern CA use the stuff on
their greens.
They also stated that they DO NOT put straw bedding, manure, or hay/straw
bales into the mix anymore- it is kept separate.
BIlle
who used to go nuts for free hay bales at halloween/xmas- but no more
Behalf Of jallan6977
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 3:48 PM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Update on my poisoned soil problem
It seems to me that Clopyralid might have been intentionaly
designed to do exact;y that. To put the composters out of
bushiness and eliminate a primary source of competition for
It seems to me that Clopyralid might have been intentionaly
designed to do exact;y that. To put the composters out of
bushiness and eliminate a primary source of competition for
chemical agriculture thus insuring increased profits for Dow.. aren't
the antitrust laws supposed to stop this kind of unethical practices.
It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see a big lawsuit against Dow. Lets
go National Composting Council. get the show on the road.
Jim AllAn
200+ miles NW of ground zero
Inventor of the Dandelion Harvester
Yes, I've been reading the posts.
PS
Patricia Santhuff wrote:
Patricia
I am all behind with my mail, but I thought I would just put in a plug
for some who try to be helpful but don't succeed. I am quite sure the
last thought in their minds was to be insulting.
If you use your imagination, I am sure you will see how difficult it can
be to deal with a problem in a different part of the country (or in my
case even a different part of the _world_) without any chance of knowing
the local conditions apart from what the person calling for advice
happens to tell us. Some (notyou certainly) just pose their problem out
of the blue without so much as a geographical location to give any sort
of fix, and in some cases at least without any really clear picture of
the various actions which may have led up to the problem.
The other thing I am sure of is that many who are eager to help are not
scientists or even familiar with the scientific method, and so they find
it difficult to isolate the problem and properly decide what advice is
pertinent. This can result in advice (wholly well-meaning no doubt)
which does not actually address the immediate problem and tends instead
to suggest answers for questions you never actually asked.
I know receiving inapproprite advice can be frustrating, but even those
of us with a scientific background can offer no guarantee we will hit
the nail on the head by long-distance diagnosis, especially with
something so unusual as your problem. This is one time where the
advisors/experts on the spot may be the only ones who can really come to
grips with what is happening.
Best wishes
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata NZ,
where it's Summer in January and Winter in July.
Interesting that Patricia was disturbed by some of the
responses to her question. I was pouting because she
got so much attention! ;^) Just shows how
differently we all can see things.
Seriously, though, I have found that on e-mail lists
there are certain juicy questions that cause people to
brainstorm (throw out more as well as less
well-thought out ideas) more than others. Sometimes
one idea leads to another, and the original question
or the intention or need of the original poster gets
left behind.
Enjoying a little taste of spring,
=====
Merry Luskin, Oakland CA
Reference librarian and handspinner
Weeder, Librarians' Index to the Internet
http://lii.org
mailto:mluskin@pacbell.net
__________________________________________________
