Has anyone actually run into problems not using manure and other animal derived fertilisers?
I have been gardening this block for 5 years, not an enormous time, but I don't use animal products to fertilise I just use compost/mulching/weed tea/and cover crops.
Everything seems fine. Yet every gardening show or whatever will be like "slather that manure and blood and bone on each year, use fish emulsion, fucking sacrifice your firstborn on that shit". Am I an idiot or do you just not need to do any of that?
edit: not looking for the peanut gallery. Interested in opinions from people who don't use animal products and what their experience has been.
This entry was edited (2 months ago)
arcane potato (she/they)
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • • •I don't use animal products intentionally. I can't know for certain if soil I buy contains compost that includes animal manure, but other than that nope.
It's really hard to find compost but if you don't need the bulk and you just need the PKN, synthetics are readily available. We've been growing plants specialty to compost so that we can get that bulky material to add to our heavy clay soil.
Personally I use synthetic on houseplants and alfalfa meal/kelp meal outside.
NaevaTheRat [she/her]
in reply to arcane potato (she/they) • • •Yeah I use synthetics inside as healthy living soil in a pot long term is hard.
Our council hooks people who don't compost with people who do. So between an overgrown garden and the street I have plenty.
arcane potato (she/they)
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • • •NaevaTheRat [she/her]
in reply to arcane potato (she/they) • • •Yeah I have mixed opinions on my council after they had a vegan hate fest when one member suggested they live their goal of a green council by not serving animal products at events.
But some of the initiatives are defs v cool.
Georgiana Brummell
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • •Jabril [none/use name]
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • • •Georgiana Brummell likes this.
arcane potato (she/they)
in reply to Jabril [none/use name] • • •I don't believe you are correct in stating that animal products are cheaper, or that commercial agriculture prefers it:
ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/…
Issues with the product:
... show moreI don't believe you are correct in stating that animal products are cheaper, or that commercial agriculture prefers it:
ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2023/…
Issues with the product:
Manure is not widely used:
Manure use is dependant on local industry:
Despite Challenges, Research Shows Opportunity To Increase Use of Manure as Fertilizer | Economic Research Service
www.ers.usda.govJabril [none/use name]
in reply to arcane potato (she/they) • • •Manure is not what I am talking about, primarily it is animal bones, fish, bat guano, bird droppings, feather meal, blood meal, etc.
I think most farms use synthetic fertilizers but every organic farm I have worked on and every organic farmer I know uses some variation of the above as their primary soil amendments along with plant compost and worm byproducts.
arcane potato (she/they)
in reply to Jabril [none/use name] • • •You didn't mention your location but for example the USDA definition of organic required that 'most' synthetic fertilizers are not used. I'm not questioning your experience, I'm just stating that by nature of being a farmer seeking certification as organic they choose to exclude most synthetics for reasons of certification - not necessarily because it's less expensive or 'better'.
usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/…
... show morePlease b
You didn't mention your location but for example the USDA definition of organic required that 'most' synthetic fertilizers are not used. I'm not questioning your experience, I'm just stating that by nature of being a farmer seeking certification as organic they choose to exclude most synthetics for reasons of certification - not necessarily because it's less expensive or 'better'.
usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/…
Please be aware that this is a vegan gardening community. You've provided an answer to to OP based on your experience, which is fine but please understand that promotion of the use of animal bodies in gardening is not welcome.
Organic 101: What the USDA Organic Label Means
www.usda.govJabril [none/use name]
in reply to arcane potato (she/they) • • •Hey sorry for the confusion, I will rephrase what I said: most commercial non organic farms use synthetic fertilizers but every organic farm i have worked on in the US and every organic farmer I know (at least three dozen commercial organic farms) use animal based fertilizers. The OP asked about these, I am not advocating for them but answering the question about if they work to to produce higher yields than home composting alone.
I didn't realize this was a vegan instance, I am not promoting the use of these products, just answering OPs question.
On a side note:
Does worm casings or worm tea go against vegan principles?
NaevaTheRat [she/her]
in reply to Jabril [none/use name] • • •In general yes. Veganism is about respecting other living being's right to live unmolested. Worms farms artificially constrain the lives of creatures which may not appreciate that, and the process of breeding and distributing them harms many.
It is completely vegan to say have a compost pile open to the ground and make it attractive to worms, provided of course you're not making a deathtrap etc. But worm farms tend to be about preventing worms from leaving. I can't think of a way to collect the liquid that wouldn't interfere with their ability to burrow.
You might think this absurd, but we literally don't know how consciousness arises or how widespread it is. Because we don't need to have worm farms, and worms may not enjoy being interfered with, it is a position of unjustified arrogance to risk harm for our convenience.
Jabril [none/use name]
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • • •NaevaTheRat [she/her] likes this.
NaevaTheRat [she/her]
in reply to Jabril [none/use name] • • •No worries. We have a reputation on lemmy for being insane zealots that hate you all but we're really just trying to find a way to live that makes consent and respect the core of it all.
Feel free to ask questions in good faith, nobody is going to bite your head off.
Georgiana Brummell likes this.
Georgiana Brummell
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • •Georgiana Brummell
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • •NaevaTheRat [she/her]
in reply to Georgiana Brummell • • •TIL it's fine to put babies in a cage because they don't form nations.
Please, if you're going to be stupid could you at least be polite and stupid? Read the rules of the community.
Georgiana Brummell
in reply to NaevaTheRat [she/her] • •