Pecan mill as organic fertilizer?

9 years ago

Hello,

The Organic Lawn Care FAQ says “Any ground seed or bean is good as an organic fertilizer including used coffee grounds.” Just want to be sure that includes pecan mill as I haven’t seen it specifically mentioned and I’m aware it has a high fat content. Will that fat create any type of problem(s)? Would I need to supplement it with other organics like cornmeal, alfalfa, etc.? Any other possible problems? Any thoughts on how well it will work to feed the soil microorganisms relative to other organic fertilizers (e.g. cornmeal, cottonseed mill)?

I’m in NC and have an opportunity to buy pecan mill at a really great price. It’s being offered as feed for hogs.

I’m making a list of questions to ask the seller and would appreciate any suggestions. Some I’ve thought of: what’s the origin (e.g. NC), why were the pecans ground up rather than sold as nuts for people; how finely are the pecans ground; how old (rancid) are the pecans; how much shell, dirt, or other foreign material is included; how clean is the pecan mill (was it sweep up from a dirty floor or ground surface); and what about insecticides, herbicides, or other toxins?

If this turns out to be good, useable pecan mill, then I could afford to put it down frequently. Would I just put down more as it disappears? I have lots of squirrels and wild birds so would need to figure out how to spread it to discourage them from eating it - maybe lighter spread more frequently?

Will appreciate all help.

Comments (6)

kimmq
9 years ago
Nuts are reputed to have a number of essential nutrients so the Pecan Meal would be a good soil amendment. However, with out good data it is not easy to come up with a program of how much and how often to apply this meal. Pecan meal could be a good nutrient source and if not very expensive a good soil amendment if the soil has an active Soil Food Web to digest that material.
Ann Orr
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for your help, kimmq. I'll go ahead and contact the pecan mill seller and ask my questions. If I buy the pecan mill, I'll experiment and likely will ask for opinions as I go along. I'm sure I need to apply 1/4 - 1/3 inch of compost to my lawn to ensure an active Soil Food Web. Will have to buy it and not sure how to ensure I'm getting compost that is rich in live organisms. Any advice on this?
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The formula listed by neil16 is the recipe for Complete Organic Fertilizer from Steve Solomon's book titled Gardening When it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. His logic is to supply all of the nitrogen needs and to replace the nutrients that are removed as a result of harvesting the crops. I used the recipe last year with good results and soybean oil meal was my nitrogen source. My local farm supply sells 50# bags for about $16.00. The analysis is about 7-1-1 or 7-2-2 depending on the sources that I've found. This material gives me the biggest bang for my buck in terms of a nitrogen source. One drawback is that the nitrogen must be broken down by microbes for plant availability and that requires warm soil temperatures. In cold weather an animal source of nitrogen like blood meal or a fish product is necessary. Be aware that purchasing kelp, bone meal and rock phosphate in small quantities is quite expensive. I buy 50# bags from an organic supplier in my region for a much better price per pound. I would consider using a complete fertilizer in a newly constructed bed like the one described above since there may be some deficiencies in nutrition for the plants. In a rich, well nourished soil there might only be the need for added nitrogen. Alfalfa meal or pellets are reputed to really rev up the soil organisms although the nitrogen content is less by weight than the seed meals. You can figure out the nitrogen content in animal feed by dividing the crude protein analysis by 6 or multiplying the crude protein by 17%. Years ago I was quite surprised to hear an agronomy professor at Virginia Tech tell how quickly organic forms of nitrogen are made available to plants when they are incorporated into the soil. The animal products are available immediately. I side-dress heavy feeders by moving the mulch and applying my seed meal at the surface. I then re-cover the fertilizer and apply moisture when I can.
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Well, if you just make sure you calculate to a 5-1-3 ratio, you're good. The problem with organic fertilizers is the amount you're going to have to use (as you know), so in the long run, even bought in bulk, if you've got a lot of trees, it can be pretty costly, even if hand-mixed from bulk products. Also, the biggest issue with using organic fertilizers for citrus, since they are heavy feeders, is trying to get enough soluble potassium (and nitrogen) for them. And lastly, not to burst anyone's "organic" bubble, but your citrus trees cannot take up any of those organic components while still in "organic" form. Those components need to be broken down into the same "non-organic" chemicals in order to be absorbed. So, really, in my mind, you're not really gaining anything by using organic fertilizers or fertilizer components. You'll save yourself a huge amount of time and money, and end up with healthier trees that have higher production rates if you just use the chemicals themselves. I'm all for organic gardening, I practice organic methods myself, and mainly to improve the soil organisms, so I top all my trees and ornamentals with compost as much as I can, and mulch with bark chips to improve the organic components in my DG soil. There's a new product (fairly new) that provides the recommended 5-1-3 ratio for citrus - Jack's Professional 25-5-15 fertilizer. If you can find this in your area, you're set for a very good fertilizer, will use less per tree, and get optimal results while saving your time, space and pocketbook :-) That's if your citrus are in the ground. If you're doing container citrus, then time-release pellets are a better choice as you won't need to fertilize as frequently. Also, your organic nitrogen sources may simply be too high in soluble salts or too hot (manure) for a container application, and end up burning or killing your tree. Here are a couple of good links to check out: http://hortipm.tamu.edu/ipmguide/nutrient/nitrogen.html http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Fertilizer.html Patty S.
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johnmer: Thanks for the kind words. I'm so happy you got the help you needed. I was not talking about a gin, rather meal comes from a seed mill. Where they extract the oil and have a 41% protein meal for cow chow. You would be surprised how many trees are grown from Brownsville around the Gulf Coast and up the S.E. Atlantic that are near cotton production. Also from S. Arizona into California. Not to mention Mexico, and the Middle East. One grower in S.E. TX has almost a half million trees per year capacity, while the one near me can produce 28,000. True, not as much Crisco (partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil) is sold as it was 20 years ago, it is in a lot of prepared foods.
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You do not need to drop corn on the ground to increase organic matter. Roots and the associated fungi are a major contributor of organic matter in the soil , maybe more so that anything put on top: http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/Ga_Cat_Arc/2013/HFG1302.pdf "We’ve also been evaluating how much of the OM buildup is due to the roots, plant litter, and animal manure by monitoring the radioisotope signatures of these sources of biomass as they decompose and become incorporated into the soil. Our preliminary results seem to indicate that the roots and root exudates are the major sources of soil OM improvements. These results support the findings of a consortium of American and European scientists in a recent review in the journal Nature. Their controversial report challenged the long-held belief that crop residues and biomass on the soil surface are the source of soil OM buildup." A lawn that is well fed and well watered with a deep extensive root system will help you to increase soil OM over time without the need to bust your back nor your wallet with hundreds of pounds of corn.
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kimmq
9 years ago
There is compost and then there is "compost". Look for a source that is a member of the U.S. Composting Council.

kimmq is kimmsr
Ann Orr
Original Author
8 years ago
Your suggestion is very helpful. I was happy to find that the City of Raleigh, NC, where I live, produces compost that has the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance (STA). They list only one compost product for sale on their website (I’ll double-check to be sure the one I buy has the Seal). It sells for $3.00 per 35 gallon bag/can; $30.00 per 2.5 cubic foot load. That seems reasonable to me, especially since I have a small lawn.

I worried that the materials for the City of Raleigh’s compost would be gathered from so many diverse sources it could have heavy metals, pesticides, etc., but I read about the STA and compost with this seal has been tested for these. I assume this means the compost will not exceed some minimum level for undesirable components.

So, just to double-check, will the City of Raleigh’s compost with the US Composting Council’s STA have an active Soil Food Web?

While searching I also found a good video showing how to spread compost by hand (shovel and rake) on existing grass. This video also showed use of a compost roller spreader, which I hadn’t known about. I’m going to see whether one is available for rent in my area. If not, I can handle doing it by hand.

So, with your help, I feel more confident that I’m getting the right supplies and, with the video, that I will do speak the compost correctly.

Have a question about the order of doing things. I need to put down lime (have lots of dolomite lime given to me by a neighbor who moved; I tested the soil and know lime is needed), compost, and the pecan mill or other organic “fertilizer.” The lawn got a very light application of a traditional fertilizer a month ago. Can you tell me which I should do first, second, and third? And could I do them all in one day (ha!) or do I need to leave some time between the applications?
kimmq
8 years ago
The most bestest time to apply lime was last fall, because it takes time for the lime to react and do what is expected of it. However, the next best time is now although you will not see results for several months. I would wait a couple of weeks after applying the lime before applying anything else although the Pecan Meal and compost may not react with the lime as a fertilizer may. A month after a fertilizer was applied should be enough time that there would be no reaction with the lime.

kimmq is kimmsr
Ann Orr
Original Author
8 years ago
kimmq, thanks so very much for your help.

Pecan mill as organic fertilizer?

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Pecan mill as organic fertilizer?

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