?:|

I'd like to find out if the organic fertilizer I purchased is not good to use on food crops. It is OMRI certified.

Here is a link to the metals analysis of the two fertilizers:

Fish Emulsion:
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/prodinfo.asp?pname=3731

Morbloom:
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/prodinfo.asp?pname=3732

I see this has a few PPM of cadmium, lead, etc. in it. Is this stuff safe for food??? Anytime I see metals like this it scares me... please help to educate a very new gardener! Thank you! I just put this stuff on my zuccini, tomatoes, and lettuce!

I also just found this link that has a good comparison of what a PPM really is... see "Relating to parts per millionÂ…" near the bottom.

Nevertheless, please let me know what you guys think organic (healthy) gardeners should use! Thank you!

http://www.ppi-ppic.org/ppiweb/ppibase.nsf/$webindex/ar...6CF3001DDABC3D1F2EB3

what gets me is they didnt tell how much iron, and calcium, and all that was. They too are metals.
when you think about ppm, 25, or .7, really is almost nothing. THink about it. for every million spoons of compost, there is only 25 spoons of the metal. Or .7, not very much. Even when converting to lbs. If you have a million lbs of compost, then you got 25 lbs of the metal. You dont have anywhere near that much. So to me those numbers are nothin.

You will get more of those metal from a bottle of Centrum or ONE A DAY + Iron, than you will get from leeching into your vegetables.

There is lead in vitamins (Centrum) ?

Also I am wondering what the long-term effect would be on the soil and root crops vs. non-root crops. It may be 4.6 PPM of lead per 25 sq. ft. of a single fertilizer application; but over 10 applications the concentration of lead then goes up to 46 PPM in that section of soil. You can see, this would add up pretty fast in an actively used garden. This is more what I am concerned about.

wouldnt that be 46 parts to 10 million? not 46 part per million? Unless you are addin pure lead and no fertalize, each million parts of fertalize is gonna contain that 4.6 parts of lead. And also, are you putting a million pounds of fertalize on that 25 sq ft. to get 4.6 lbs. Or 1 million buckets to contain 4.6 buckets of lead. PPM is also equivalent to milligrams per litre. SO 1 million litres of your fertalize will contain 4.6 miligrams of lead. Its miniscule. You probably get more lead from a gallon of water from your water dept over a year than you get from the vegetables. If you are concerned dont use it. But to me it dont seem like much. I had to study all that lead and mineral stuff in the AWWA water short schools the city sent me to. You would be suprised what the tolerance is in our drinking water. Asbestos, calcium, iron, lead, gypsum, sodium, magnesium, zinc. More than you may feel comfortable drinking, but American water standards says it ok. Asbestos is like 200 mil/ltr not larger than one micron. Thats ALLOWED!!! yuck, but it never killed any of our residents. Or at least not yet.

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/misc/cgandlead.html Found this for ya, may help.

Farmhound, thanks for the link below, it was very helpful.

The way I currently understand this is that I can put 3 tablespoons of fish emulsion in one gallon of water; that gallon should be spread over 25 sq. st. to get the ratio of 5-0-0.

On the website it says the 4.6 PPM is accurate when the fertilizer is used according to the proper dosage.

So yes it is true that the lead is very low 4.6 PPM with each application, but I wonder if that lead would not build up over time. I agree with you that it is a very small amount, I just wonder if it will accumulate over time, or what happens to the lead over time.... does it slowly use up in the leaves of the plants and roots (which I will compost and put back in the soil again), does it seep down into the ground, or what?

At any rate, thank you for the link, it helped me find a veggie wash and also showed me that lead doesn't get into fruits (just leaves).

Some of it will be absorbed, some will be washed away. Some will soak down into the subsoil. If you use the stuff every year for the rest of your life, then you may one day reach a risidual higher than recomended. But use it wisely, and alternate with something else between years. Again, rotation, not just of plants, but of chemicals, I say chemicals because thats what they are, naturally occuring, but they all have a chemical breakdown when you talk molecular. Maybe I should say elemental breakdown. Nitrogen is nitrogen. Wheather its made by binding it to a petroleum by product so it can be absorbed or its bound to a carbon molecule in compost. Use fish emulsion this year, use sheep manure next year, the change up each year will be better for the soil and the plants. And rotate your crops, use fish emulsion in the spring, plant fruiting crops, they will absorb the lead in their leaves, then in the fall, plant your greens and dont use any lead containing stuff on them. Or alternate where you put the fish so you arent growing edible greens on the place you used it the same year.

Thanks! Your advice makes sense. This will help me a great deal.

Also in contrast, I see fertilizers organic and non-organic vary greatly. I compared against some miracle-gro specs to see:

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/prodinfo.asp?pname=2703

http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/FertDB/prodinfo.asp?pname=2688

Thanks again... I will be conscious of what I use on what and when, and how much. The PPM comparison and the difference between fruiting and leafy crops is also valuable info.

I forget where I found it now... I think there is some type of kelp fertilizer that has lots of good stuff in it and very little bad metals... I don't recall what it is though.