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.

It was said: "The addition of gravel to a clay soil would be about the worst thing you could do" Actually, not so. Gravel can be quite helpful. Around here most of the soil is a clay with shrink/swell properties. One way to increase drainage, then is to mix in at least a 2 inch depth of a crushed gravel called 1/4-10. This provides a mechanical fix, in that the clay swells, then shrinks away from the gravel, the cycle repeating over and over with rainfall/irrigation. BUT it's important to know that compost -- at least 2 inches -- is also mixed into the soil, this to provide "food" for the organisms which will eventually provide humus which, in turn, improves soil structure. As is usual, follow-up with a mulch of additional compost.

I use a green compost bin that our city loans people to have r vegetation hauled away. Then I put c. a foot of broken crockery on the bottom and a few sawed up branches for drainage, as the bin lacks holes and I put all my fruit and veg trimmings, egg shells and used tea bags in it, after it is 1/3rd full I mix in some chicken manure tea, I use only enough fluid to dampen it, because the bin has no holes in it. then I keep adding the fruit and veg et cetera until it's 2/3rds full , add some more manure tea, I also put in the cardboard rolls from paper towels and toilet paper, and used paper plates. Then after it sits there for c. 6 weeks I turn it out into a 6' long by 2 feet deep trench for it to break down more. As I take it out of the bin I mix it up more, as aeration is an important part of making compost. When I pre-soak the larger chunks of fruit, the completed compost takes a third less time to break down. I make compost c. 4 times a year. It is better than c. 90% of the compost I've ever bought. I used to feel silly giving all my compost to be hauled away by the garbage crews and then paying c. 8 bucks a bag for compost from a store. Now I have wonderful compost at all times available without having to lug it home. One of my favorite gardening memories: when a new batch of compost was ready for her garden, my mother used to run her hands through that rich, dark and friable substance while she wore a soft and endearing expression; as if she were seeing not compost, but was viewing something enchantingly wondrous, as I would if there were colorful precious gems in front of me. As a child I used to think mom was a bit eccentric. Not so much now. Lux.

There really isn't any shortcut to this. You need to repot everything with fresh potting soil. You do not necessarily need to move each plant into a larger container but you DO need to replace the soil. Potting soil degrades, compacts and loses its ability to drain quickly over time. The fact that you think you need to add soil to the top of the containers is clear evidence of this. As is the state of the plants growing in it - they are suffering. While I wouldn't ordinarily recommend it, even the cheapo potting mixes available at places like Walmart or Home Depot are better than what you have now. At least for this growing season. Consider it an investment in your plants :-)