what to do with chemical fertilizer

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself Here' started by Sandman, Mar 12, 2013.

  1. Sandman

    Sandman Junior Member

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    Hello everyone. We are in west central Florida one year into installing what we hope will blossom into a real live food forest. This is my first post on this forum.
    We have about 50 lbs of chemical fertilizer that I bought in a former life. About half is for palms and the other bag is for citrus & avocado. Ammonium phosphate, sulfur coated urea, ammonium sulfate and other harsh inorganic salts. After a year of mulching, composting, and brewing compost tea, we are finally beginning to see some signs of life in our poor sandy soil, including even an occasional earthworm. Yeah! The last thing I want to do is use the chemical fertilizer and harm our soil life. I will continue to use mulch and compost, but in the spirit of permaculture where nothing goes to waste, I'd like to find a use for the chemical fertilizer.

    I was thinking about maybe adding it in small doses to compost tea. That would at least dilute the inorganic salts, and therefore reduce the toxicity somewhat. But, adding the chemical to the tea would also kill much of the microbial life in the tea, so I'm just not sure if this is a good idea.

    I'd love to hear from anyone with interest in this topic and/or suggestions. Thanks in advance.
     
  2. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Donate it to a garden club that hasn't yet figured out how toxic it is yet?
     
  3. Nigel Richards

    Nigel Richards Junior Member

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    Nice idea! :clap:

    OR:
    Maybe you could even SWAP it for some plants; that way you'll feel less guilty about handing over the poison; you'll actually be saving a few from dastardly fertilizer!

    Seriously, welcome!
    And good luck with your food forest in Florida; it sounds exciting.
     
  4. Peter

    Peter Junior Member

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    Send it to the White House. They love the likes of Monsanto so will probably have some one they don't like to give it to.
     

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