Re: Soil Additive Experiment

In a message dated 98-02-08 09:31:56 EST, you write:

<< Subj:	 Re: Soil Additive Experiment, List Of Ingredients
 Date:	98-02-08 09:31:56 EST
 From:	bcook@interlog.com (Brian Cook)
 Sender:	owner-pumpkins@mallorn.com
 Reply-to:	pumpkins@mallorn.com
 To:	pumpkins@mallorn.com
 
 GBPUMPKIN@aol.com wrote:
 
 >  I seem to remember it being suggested to add dog food or cat food to a
 >  compost pile as an activator.  Certainly all those high nitrogen "meals"
 >  ought to pack some punch in that regard.

(SEE ** ANSERWS BELOW)  George
 
 This may be BUT, what about all the fat? Cat food has, I seem to recall
 quite a high fat content, how good can that be to add to the soil? I
 also remember hearing that Corn (which is in both cat and dog food and
 usually quite high on the list of ingredients) has certain growth
 inhibitors. On another list I am on, anytime the subject of using Alfala
 as an additive comes up, someone always makes a point of mentioning that
 you should be certain that the Alfalfa contains NO corn.

**All tests last year showed positive results, throughout the garden and in
containers.  Most of the grain meal is consumed by worms quickly and processed
into food for plants.  The dog food is high in grain and is used more heavily
in the Fall with cat food high in fish meal heavily in the Spring.  This is
still an experiment and I wouldn’t recommend it on a large scale for anyone
else.
 
 Would we not be better off to use the individual vegetable based
 ingredients found in dogfood, rather than the dogfood itself? And, what
 about the problem of attracting animal pests with the food? Cat and Dog
 food are quite expensive as well, it would probably cost less and be
 better for the plants to stick to things like alfalfa, cottonseed meal
 and green manure tea and leave the fat, chicken, and beef to the
 carnivores.
 
** I'm using it sparingly and that doesn’t seem to be a problem.  I have had a
some trouble with commercial Liquid Fish, but still use it..  As far as cost,
bought in 50 lb. bags it is only about 20% more than granular fertilizer that
doesn’t do as good as this combined with small amounts of commercial
fertilizer.  I still add Urea/Manure every year and Potassium every few.

 -- 
 Brian Cook              b*@interlog.com
 Toronto/Port Perry      Ontario Canada
  >>
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