You might have to do a find for "sewer sludge" on the page but for whats its worth; Sheep who ate cabbage grown on sludge developed lesions on the liver and thyroid glands. Pigs grown on corn treated with sludge had higher levels of cadmium in their tissues. Industrial companies are able to sell or donate their hazardous waste and label it fertilizer. No matter what form fertilizer comes in, it has become a threat to American life. All sewer plants in the U.S. and sewer sludge have been found by government assays to have high levels of mercury. This sewer sludge is used to fertilize fields, which gets into the plants grown from those fields, and the animals that eat the plants, and so on. Avoid using sewer sludge products, they are not safe. They bioaccumulate, increase cancer risks, and potentiate other cancer-causing compounds, and get into drinking water. In soils treated with sewer sludge, although 80% can disappear after one month, "residues were still detectable" 322 days later. The farmers outside Augusta, Ga., say the hay had a musty chemical odor and was dark and mottled. But they fed it to the cows. Then the cows started to waste away, growing so thin that their ribs could be counted through their skin, the dairy farmers say. The cows died by the hundreds. Grandpa would be ashamed of what we use today for fertilizer - I can just hear my Grandfather saying to me, "Son, what in the world were you thinking? You flush it one day and buy it back the next!" Sewer sludge, which was once considered hazardous waste and judged too dangerous to be used on food crops, has been deregulated by the EPA and redefined as an agricultural fertilizer. And fertilizers, as marketable producer are exempt from the laws that govern the disposal of hazardous waste. In effect, the EPA has found a way to make the waste problem that once plagued 15,000 publicly owned sewer plants disappear, at least in name. Each year about 4 million metric tons of municipal sludge-- about half of the total produced annually in the United Stares--are dumped on farm land. That sludge is derived chiefly from human excreta and from the water wastes of 130,000 industrial plants. Typically, municipal sewer sludge contains PCBS, dangerous pesticides such as chlordane, chlorinated compounds such as dioxin, heavy metals such as arsenic and lead, viruses such as Hepatitis A, eggs of parasitic worms, etc. Cornell University's Toxic Chemical Laboratory recently tested SO municipal sludges and found that two-thirds contained asbestos. "You test it and you find so much--dioxin, PCBS, DDT, asbestos --- it's an endless list," says Cornell toxicologist Donald Lisk. ?Urban sewer sludge is a huge problem." Would you eat pesticides or heavy metals, even in the tiny quantities allowed" in food? Would you allow yourself to be irradiated? Swim in sewer sludge, or touch it or breathe it? Would you permit yourself to be the experiment in a genetic modification test? Would you find it very healthy to be confined and injected with antibiotics? Would you eat or put baked human poop in your food? Or even near it? Insight has reported a rash of cases across the country alleging illnesses, and even deaths, after exposure to low-grade, misapplied sludge (see "Toxic Waste Used as Fertilizer?", April 21). A Maryland-based waste-management company, Bio-Gro Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc., or WMI, frequently has been accused of abusive land application of sludge. At press time, WMI an-nounced a $200 million agreement to sell its beleaguered Bio-Gro division to Synagro Technologies Inc., which specializes in "organic residuals management." The companies issued disclaimers indicating that the actual value of Bio-Gro's sale could be affected by "pending or threatened litigation," governmental "inquiries and investigation" or "changes in government regulation. The study says that sewage sludge, the mud-like material that remains after treatment of the wastes that flow into local sewage treatment plants, may cause illnesses when it is used to fertilize gardens, golf courses and farms in the U.S. The NAS panel determined that the millions of tons of sludge used in the U.S. annually might contain chemicals, which could affect water quality, or particulates, which could wash into ground water or be blown by the wind into homes near farms that use large amounts of sewer sludge. Plutonium releases via the LaboratoryÂs sewer system resulted in the contamination of sewage sludge that was distributed and used widely as soil conditioner in parks, landscaping around public buildings, and in home lawns and gardens. The amount of sludge distributed and the concentration of the radioactivity in the sludge are uncertain Sewer sludge may not have a terribly offending odor considering its source, but the idea of using sewer sludge in a garden repels some people. This may be for good reason, inasmuch as there may be traces of heavy metals, or other toxic substances in sludge. The brand name for sewer sludge from the Milwaukee sewer treatment system, which has been treated and is deemed safe for use in the home landscape, although it should not be used around vegetables or fruiting plants. The fertilizer analysis is 5-2-0. Another target for utilizing our land as a sink rather than a source is the application of sewer sludge on agricultural lands. Throughout Riverside County, industry and the government have promoted the practice of using pathogen-infected human waste mixed with industrial wastes ladened with heavy metals and contaminants as a soil amendment on land surrounding our communities. As a result, residents have been forced to lie inside with windows and doors sealed shut to avoid the stench and the overwhelming illness that accompanies this practice. It isn't always just human waste, now is it? Often we put disinfectants, cleaning products, plumbing chemicals, paint thinner, numerous toxins down the drain. Worst yet, think about what the industrial contribution is. This all leads through the treatment plants and inevitably becomes sewage sludge. These standards are in the process of allowing plutonium contaminated sludge from a superfund site to be used on crop lands Sewer sludge are the solids that remain after sewage treatment. The treated sewage is inoculated with microorganisms and aerated. Then it is filtered, dried, ground, and screened. It is often used as both a soil amendment and a fertilizer on ornamentals and lawns. Note: Sludge is no longer allowed for use in organic crop production due to concerns about heavy metals.

Over the last year I've added 2 varieties of apples, purple leafed plum, lavenders, german chamomile, roman chamomile, chicory, yarrow, elderberry, wolfberry, another hazelnut, borage, garlic, and comfrey, as well as veggies like peppers, tomatoes, radishes, scarlet runner beans, and I've just sown 2 varieties of kale. I added some things a bit late (I just recently found out about edible forest gardens!), so I may need to replace a couple of things that look iffy. This fall I'm hoping to add raspberries, thornless blackberries, red currants, grape vine, and a mulberry.

Congratulations on your new baby! Nothing like the music of a houseful of kids giggling and playing! I have 5 also. Well I just started collecting this year, I was having problems with my on again/off again lantana that I decided I was removing most of it and replacing with a different perennial. Well as you can guess the rest is history...lol Oh my goodness daylilies sure are addicting (however that's what I say about whatever "new" plant I'm into that year.) lol Anyway here goes... Absolute Treasure All Fired Up Awesome Blossom Atlanta Irish Heart Apricot Jade Autumn Jewels (Thanks Sue G.!) Alabama Jubilee Asymmetry (Thanks Sue G.) American Doll Autumn Wood Amethyst Art Black Eyed Stella Big Kiss Blueberry Candy Beautiful Edgings Bibbity Bobbity Boo Barbara Mitchell Baron Frederick Bookmark Bombay Bliss (Thanks Sue G.) Blueberry Baroque (Thanks Sue G.) Bela Lugosi Bright Sunset Black Fathom Depths Brave World Beautiful Daydream Curly Pink Ribbons Cosmopolitan Crimson Pirate Custard Candy Carolina Ruffles (Thanks Sue G.) Citrix Cerulean Warbler Cape Coral Choral Fantasy Cosmic Odyssey (has a scape!) Coming Up Roses Carol Todd Calming Effect Dream Legacy Dragon King Desperado Love Ezekiel El Desperado Ebony Pools Eternal Warrior Elegant Candy English Cameo Egyptian Pearl Fiesta Fling Fuschia Four Fragrant Treasure Flore Peno Fires Of Fuji Fiji Fairy Firecracker Fire King Forever Lovely Gordon Biggs God Save The Queen Grandma's Smile Garden Goddess Gingham Maid Groovy Chic Highland Lord Hawaiian Swirls Happy Returns Having Fun Harbor Mist Hidden Rainbow Hyperion Heavenly Mansions Hot Lava Heavens Declaring How Beautiful Heaven Must Be Ida's Magic Irish Envy Ice Carnival Island Hospitality Inherited Wealth Indian Giver Just So Jolyene Nichols J.T. Davis King Creole Kindly Light Kathleen Salter Lacy Doily Little Business Little Wart Lavender Stardust Long Stocking Lavender Arrowhead Light Motiff Lake Norman Sunset Lime Frost Little Red Warbler Laura Harwood (Thanks Shirley S.) Lava Flow Lullaby Baby Ledgewood's Firecracker Majestic Pink Marked By Lydia Malaysian Monarch Malaysian Marketplace Mystical Rainbow Ming Toy Merry Moppet Magnificent Rainbow Moonlit Caress Mandalay Bay Music (Thanks Sue G.) Moonlit Masquerade Mardi Gras Parade Mildred Mitchell Mexican Magic Miami Mood Memories Remain Magic Lace Mini Pearl Mississippi Blues Monkey Giggles Navajo Princess Neon Rainbow Night Beacon New Paradigm Outrageous Fortune Omumuki Petite Ballet Pumpkin Kid Pineapple Moon Prickled Petals Purple Maze Plum Line Pleasant Edging Promised Day Rainbow Candy Roses & Gold Rocket City Route 66 Rock Solid South Seas Sabine Bauer Siloam Double Classic Silent Thunder Stenciled Impressions Suzie Wong Shimmering Elegance Sugar Mountain (Thanks Sue G.) Sparks Cool Mountain Mist (Thanks Sue G.) Spiritual Corridor Sunday Gloves Spellbinder Siloam Ury Winniford Strutter's Ball Screen Pattern Sense Of Wonder Secret Agent Spacecoast Picotee Prince (Thanks Sue G.) Sculptured Wax Small World Looney Tunes Song In My Heart Spanish Glow Sensory Perception Thanks A Bunch Two Part Harmony Two To Tango Trahylta Tuscawilla Tigress Thunder & Blazes Tropical Experience Thisby Upper Crust Society Violet Osborn Variegated Kwanso Vino Di Notte Wild Wookie Wonder Of It All (Thanks Sue G.) Wild Horses (Thanks Sue G.) Wild & Wonderful Yasmin And a few more I'm bidding on also... hopefully I win them. Rena'

Hi Kirk 1977, I invite you to have alook at my hydroponic site from Australia. I grow in 150 mm (6 inch) plastic stormwater pipe, use sand as a medium, run my pump for no more that thirty minutes per day, and grow plenty of salad vegetables for the kitchen table. My site shows how to set up such a system, make your own nutrient solutions from basic chemicals, where to get them from, how to adjust the formula, hints for success, an FAQ section, and links to other hydroponic sites .... none of which appear to use sand. It also includes plenty of 800 x 600 photographs, and an email address if you ever get stuck. To find it, just type Simple Sand Hydroponics into Google, or use the URL below. Jimr007 Australia. Here is a link that might be useful: Simple Sand Hydroponics