Re: CULT: Organic Matter
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: CULT: Organic Matter
- From: A* R* <a*@austx.tandem.com>
- Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 10:12:17 -0600 (MDT)
> If you build up your soil with organic matter you will never require
> fertilizers out of a bag.
Agreed, except I would use compost as a soil amendment or under dressing
for bearded iris. Which I then would not be able to replace until I dug
and replanted that area. In our climate organic material breaks down
*very* quickly. What then?
> element for iris than is nitrogen. Phosphate is, however, highly soluble
> and washes out of the soil rapidly. It must be used sparingly. Many of
> our pollution problems, as in the Chesapeake Bay, are due to excessive
> phosphate use on farm fields, which causes algal blooms in bays and lakes.
> The decaying algae later depletes the bay of oxygen and kills aquatic life.
Isn't it interesting that phosphorous containing detergents have been
banned in many placed (including here)? I wonder what percentage of
phosphorous runoff is caused by detergents vs. horticultural /
agricultural use.
--
Amy Moseley Rupp
amyr@austx.tandem.com, Austin, TX, USDA zone 8b, Sunset zone 30
*or* amyr@mpd.tandem.com
Jill O. *Trades, Mistress O. {}
