Mosaic to Hold Conference Call Regarding Preliminary Injunction on Mine Extension
The Mosaic Company announced it will conduct a conference call on Monday, August 2, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the preliminary injunction entered late Friday, July 30, 2010 relating to Mosaic’s South Fort Meade mine permit in Hardee County, Florida. Â Best Organic Fertilizers to use in your home garden
fertilizers can cause increased algae population. When large amounts of algae die, what happens?
Some fertilizers can cause an increase in the population of algae in the water. When large quantities of these algae die, what happens? 1. A new food source for fish are large. 2. The toxins released into the water. 3. The decomposition of algae remove oxygen.
3. The algae decompose and remove oxygen from the water. – Eutrophication.
Fungus or insects can affect opening of peony buds
Dear Jane: We have three peonies in our flower garden. Two of the bushes bloomed beautifully, while the third one sets buds that never open. They stay tightly closed. How to make your own organic fertilizer
Sable Chemicals optimistic of high output
THE country’s sole producer of ammonia nitrate fertilizer, Sable Chemicals, has set its sights on raising plant capacity from the current 40 percent to over 50 percent of design capacity by the end of the year. How to Test if Fertilizer Has Nitrates in it
Do Chemicals in Fireworks/Crackers serve as Fertilizers for Plants?
I had a doubt regarding the fireworks….
Do chemical contents of these any Fireworks/Crackers contain Nitrogen/Phosphorus /Potassium(NPK) elements/oxides which may serve Fertilizers for plants?
Is it safe to put firework chemical powder content in Plants soil?
Thanks for answers
–>And finally tell me whether it is useful or harmful to plants?
The part of fireworks that burn is the ‘gunpowder’ moiety.
Gunpowder is composed of, amongst other chemicals, Carbon and saltpetre ( Potassium Nitrate) & Sulphur. Out of these chemicals the saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate – KNO3) is the most beneficial to a garden as fertiliser, as it contains potassium and nitrogenous material.
Someone I work with told me that if you leave oak leaves on the ground or mulch them and they are absorbed by the soil that it is toxic to the grass and the grass will not grow as good around the tree. Is there any truth to this. I have a few pin oaks in my yard and the grass around them could be better. Didn’t know if this is why or if it’s the shade or spotty fertilizer?
If you just leave them on the ground they will block the light and kill the grass.
If you mulch them, they might slightly acidify the soil, so a bit of lime
might be required to turn them into good fertilizer.
Human urine makes an excellent high nitrogen liquid fertiliser for most plants. Dilute it 10 to 1 and pour it over and or round fast growing plants once a week; like vegetables, Green manure crops and sugar cane. Indeed just about anything that you want to push along rapid green growth
Studies indicate that each person’s waste fluids can provide enough nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to grow a year’s supply of wheat and maize for that person. According to some studies, human waste can be an even more effective fertilizer than animal manure.
Urine, which comprises 90 percent of human waste, contains about 80 percent of our waste’s fertilizer value. It can be applied to field crops without treatment because it is generally sterile. By the way “fresh urine” does not contain any bacteria, unless the person has a urinary tract infection, so you could even use it to wash out wounds without causing any infections,
Human urine can be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizer to reduce pollution in air, water and soil and help avoid or control other environmental hazards which surface due to the use of chemical fertilizer, Human urine contains nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium at a much higher ratio than in commercial fertilizers and is environmentally safe to use.
If you want to use urine to fertilize your gardens, keep in mind that when urea becomes ammonia, it also becomes volatile and part of it strips into the air. Both ammonia and nitrates are also very soluble and if not picked up by plant’s root systems can enter groundwater with the irrigation water. So it would be best to keep gardens moist but not over watered, but these are similar problems faced by people who use other forms of fertilizers.
Problems urine causes
Most toilets use between 50 and 100 litres of water daily to flush away one to 1.5 litres of human excrement.
Urine is the largest contributor of nutrients to waste water, estimated as 50% of phosphorus and 80% of nitrogen.
The high level of nutrients in sewerage runoff leads to the consequent growth of algae, resulting in the lack of oxygen and the death of plants and animals on river, estuarine and sea beds.
Problems Chemical Fertilizers cause
Serious environmental hazards are often associated with the use of chemical fertilizers. In industrialized countries, for example, indiscriminate use of these substances has polluted water supplies. Dangerously high levels of chemicals have been reported in nearly one-fourth of Europe’s groundwater supplies.
Advantages of Urine Fertilizer
One advantage in using urine, as a fertilizer is that much of the urine is available in ideal chemical forms: nitrogen is in the form of urea (ammonia/ammonium which is present at concentrations of approximately 3.5 g/l), phosphorus as superphosphate and potassium as an ion. Urine is almost free from heavy metals – for example, cadmium – because even if we ingest them, they will tend to bind to the liver and kidneys, making the urine much lower in such contaminants than commercial fertilizers.
Urea outside the body quickly becomes ammonia and will be oxidized by special bacteria (called nitrifiers) into nitrates. All these ‘reactive’ nitrogen sources can be used to form amino groups for new amino acids, thus then being made into proteins. So make other steps to encourage the soil life in your garden, eg things lie mulching etc.
It helps conserve pure or town drinking water
Reduces the rate and amount of chemical fertilizer runoff into the groundwater and surrounding waterways
Reduces the amount of sewerage runoff
Reduces nutrient build-up in waterways and estuaries and oceans
Reduces your gardening costs, because of less reliance on buying chemical fertilizers.
Uses
Probably best used for non-edible plants, green manure crops and fruit orchards, though there is some usage being noted for edible crops. Apply in under fruiting plants, not onto foliage and fruits.
In a Hydroponics set-up, use it diluted, probably at a ratio of either 10- 20 to 1(water- urine), but keep a close eye on both the ph level and the level of individual salts of the mix in the nutrient storage container.
Dilute urine is also a good additive to a compost pile. Urea also helps break down lignin, accelerating the decomposition of woody materials. On the other hand, urine from somebody with a urinary tract infection or from unknown sources should probably be pasteurised or put in a long-term compost pile (of a year or longer)
before it is used on food crops.
When using a urine fertilizer in container plants, a 10:1 (water: urine) ratio can quickly burn plants in medium to small containers because of the salt and urea build-up, even at a 15:1 dilution rate is very strong for the medium to small containers. While at 20:1 you can use it more frequently (once or twice a week) with good benefits and little danger.
Unfermented urine can supposedly be sprayed as a fungicide. Indigenous people in southeastern Mexico claim that the use of urine as a fungicide was a traditional Mayan practice. However there needs to be a lot more research as to the validity or not of their claims.
While in Korea, they spray the undiluted urine as an insecticide, but again I do not know of any research to prove or disprove their claims.
So why not get out there, and help the environment by assisting in reducing the nutrient flow into the natural ground water and water ways, while saving yourself a bundle in fertilizer costs.
About the Author
The Bare Bones Gardener is a qualified Horticulturist and a qualified Disability Services Worker. He hates spending money on stuff which doesn’t live up to the promises given. So he looks for cheaper, easier, simpler or free ways of doing the same thing and then he passes these ideas on to others.
Garden Blog – http://barebonesgardening.blogspot.com/
Use Fertilizers Sparingly – Washington Waters, ours to protect, public service announcement
Right and Wrong Corn Growing Methods – And Little Pointers to Help You Along
Winter is the time to prepare the area where your corn will be planted. This is the time to till the soil and add compost to the dirt. A few weeks before you plant the crop you may add fertilizer to the soil as well. Something to keep in mind is the area should not be exposed to strong winds or soil with poor drainage. In addition, you want to choose a location with plenty of direct sunlight.
Growing corn from seeds:
Many gardeners recommend the seeds soak in water for 24 hours to get a jump-start on the sprouting process. After the seeds have soaked for a day, you should place them directly in the gardening soil. Why? Simply put, corn is vegetable that is hard to transplant as a seedling. When growing corn it is helpful to arrange them in rectangle of 4 rows. You want to keep the rows about one foot apart from one-another.
There may be times when the roots appear above ground. To protect them from drying out other damage add a layer of gardening soil or compost over them. Corn is a plant that will need support as it grows. You can provide their support needs by using garden stakes.
Harvesting the vegetable:
The best way to find out if the corn is ripe is to look at the silks at the top of the plant, as they will turn a dark. At this point pull back the husk and squeeze on kernel of corn. A ripe kernel will release a creamy liquid, while unripe one will release a liquid that looks like water.
About the Author
Steve Habib is a active gardener and researcher on growing and caring for a variety of plants. You can find more insights and free reports on how to become a better gardener at the: HOME PAGE To discover more about GROWING CORN visit here.
New alternative fuel could bring jobs to Berks County
OLEY – During a time where the U.S. is enduring one of the worst oil spills of all time, a state representative is looking to change all of that, hoping to wean the country off its dependency of crude oil. Sodium nitrate from fertilizer and drain cleaner
To fertilize your plants can be quite simple if you use chemicals in your gardens. It is also very convenient because all you have to do is mix it with water and spray it onto plants. However, chemicals can cause damaging effects to the environment. Organic fertilizer is a good way of fertilizing your plants.
An organic way to fertilize your plants can have many benefits. This type of fertilizer uses carbon-based compounds that help increase the productivity of your plants. They can also have other benefits like ensuring that your produce is free of harmful chemicals. Due to this, people eating your food are less prone to diseases such as cancer, heart stroke and skin disorders.
Organic fertilizer can also be prepared on the farm itself. Thus, this makes sure that the cost of this type of fertilizer is lesser than the cost of chemical fertilizers. Another is that, it helps maintain the soil structure and increases nutrient holding capacity. Thus, you only require less quantity of it, as the soil is already nutrient rich. They also ensure that the farm remains fertile for hundreds of years. Chemical fertilizers have caused lands to rapidly become infertile forcing many farmers to further increase the chemical fertilizer inputs or leave farming.
Fertilizing plants organically are also biodegradable and do not cause environmental pollution. Unlike the chemical variety, which contaminates land and water, this contamination can cause diseases to humans and worst the potential extinction of a number of plants, animals and insect species.
You have to be careful in buying a pre-made organic fertilizer. Some can be high in one of the major plant nutrients but low in the other two. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potash are the nutrients that are needed by plants to grow. In buying pre packaged fertilizers, make sure that you know which nutrients your plants need. This ensures that you buy the correct type.
There are different types of this fertilizer. It can be blood meal, fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, compost, manure, and seaweed fertilizer. Cottonseed meal is one of the common types of this fertilizer. This is good for acid-loving plants, because it has an acidic reaction in the soil. It also contains about 7% nitrogen, 3% phosphorous, and 2% potash. This is usually used for flowering plants like azaleas and rhododendrons.
If you are looking for a nice and balanced fertilizer, the fish emulsion is probably what you need. This is a blend of decomposed fish, is high in nitrogen, and contains many trace elements that are beneficial for plants.
You must also make sure that the ground is warm enough when you fertilize. This type of fertilizer needs organisms in the soil to break them down and release the nutrients they contain. Thus, the soil needs to be warm and moist so the organisms in the soil will be active. You should also be careful for fertilizer that you put in especially if you are using blood meal. Blood meal is high in nitrogen and can burn plants if there is too much of it. You should be very careful not to exceed the recommended dose as this can harm your plant.
Tom has been gardening for years but this is his first foray into organic gardening. Visit his site for more information on how to grow your own vegetables. http://www.mygardeningbasics.com By T. Houser
