Re: [compost_tea] Toxins that Affect Worms and Soil Microorganisms - how to identify and correct?

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 16:55:15 -0500


There's a chemistry lab in Santa Maria, CA that does pesticide residue testing. Name of Pro-Chem or something like that.

When biology is low in the soil, and addition of compost or tea can't seem to pull the numbers up, then you need to test for chemical residues. Just going out and testing is too expensive, and why do a bunch of testing when most of the time the biology and foods you add in the tea or compost will decompose residues, or sequester the heavy metal so it is plant unavailable?

So, only when you have added the biology and foods, and they don't improve, then worry about toxic levels. Then do the testing. First step there is to try to determine what pesticides were used in high concentration or for years and years.

DDT, 2,4-D, dieldrin, benomyl, bromine (from methyl bromide), coppers from any copper base pesticide, sulfur from any sulfur-based pesticide or from gypsum or potassium sulfate additions are the ones we have run into.

But not that often. Biology is amazing!

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
www.soilfoodweb.com

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Received on Sun Nov 16 2003 - 18:25:20 EST

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