So back at the end of October I told the story of my overzealous use of compost tea on my then burgeoning seedlings. They seemed to be taking off, I was excited, and thought a little mild fertilizer would do them good. Well, it instead burned them...or so I thought. What I didn't say is what went into the compost that may be the true culprit.
Behind my house is a nice little 4-acre lake that happens to be spring fed. Because of this anomaly the water is relatively safe to swim in ( sans the occasional alligator) and the whole neighborhood uses it to water their lawns. Just to make sure that it doesn't get clogged with algae and to keep down the growth of grasses near the shoreline, our HOA contracts a guy to come out every other month or so and spray the lake. I think you see where this is going.
A couple of days after the last spraying I collected all of the beautiful lake grass and muck from my shoreline. Great!! I was so happy for my little bonanza of detritus I immediately put it into my composter. A day or so later it rained and I drew the putrid water from said composter and applied it to my garden. And that's when it all started ending.
Last week I had a eureka moment and put 2 and 2 together. I did some research and found that a compound called glyphosate (commercially known as Pondmaster) was used in the lake. Pondmaster is Roundup's little aquatic cousin. Supposedly not harmful to fish but just as lethal to plants as Roundup. This coupled with the anaerobic bacteria in my too-wet compost was probably the one-two punch that a) killed the youngest seedlings and b) effectively bonsai'd my other babies.
As hard as I try Monsanto always seems to creep into my world.
Total bummer on the seedlings but I'm not sure the glyphosate did them in. I believe glyphosate is a fertilizer that works only on actively growing plants in order to kill them. That is the plant takes it into its circulation/internal system and that is how it is killed. It's residual life is relatively short compared to many commercial pesticides. It is possible some residue was in the compost tea and may have caused the demise of the seedlings but I don't think it likely. Here is a link that shows the breakdown. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup and also used on ponds as you stated. I don't think I'd swim in the pond at all regardless of residual effects of the pesticide. Here is a link talking about it breaking down that may possibly be helpful. http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/vgn/images/portal/cit_609/24/63/805172126Q%20and%20A%20Spraying.pdf
ReplyDeleteI once purchased a 'compost tea' that looked great and I thought wow what a good deal to buy this stuff. I sprayed it on some container plants and they all promptly died. Not such a good deal. I learned from that no more foliar feeding and instead apply lots of homemade compost to the soil around my plants. Can't go wrong there but of course be careful what you put in your compost. I think treated pond weeds would be okay but I'd let them sit at least one year to be safe. Good luck and thanks for making me think this morning. This is something I need to look into further.
Thanks for the link Tina. I need to do some further research on the subject as well. There is some literature out there about the ill effects of compost tea derived from partially rotted material - that may be my true culprit. It seems that the anaerobic bacteria in this stuff uses more nitrogen than it releases. I'm going to try some more controlled experiments to see if that is the case.
ReplyDeleteUgh, that is a real shame. Yep, Monsanto seems to rule the world (with the other mega-pseudo-agra biz companies). I would agree with Tina and re-consider swimming in the lake.
ReplyDeleteYou are right on the compost tea! That must be it. I do not use it at all anymore as it is most sad to see plants die.
ReplyDeleteWell, I wouldn't swear off compost tea that quickly. This is the first time I ever had any negative effects from using compost tea. Which is why I thought the recently sprayed lake water was the culprit. If it was the compost tea it was because I let my compost get too wet and immediately used the resultant water. As long as your compost is well rotted before you make the tea everything should be fine. I have used this as my ONLY fertilizer for several years now and this is my first problem- which is why I thought the lake grass was the problem. But like I said, it could very well be neither... Or both.
ReplyDelete