City seaweed harvester waste

[PrivateAero]

There is a city near me that has a 4 sq. mile lake that gets over grown with an invasive species of seaweed. The city has a seaweed harvester and collects tons of it and dumps in a woods. There are like 5 years worth of decomposing piles of seaweed back there. I know this city doesn't use herbicides, but the machine does have a major hydraulic leak every couple of years. What does everyone think about using this seaweed? I'm going to try a yard out for my outdoor ornamental garden for sure.

Thanks all.

 

[mad librettist]

treat it with some EM and use it!

 

[zenoonez]

I would get the oldest pile and treat it and make sure you mix it with some other things. I have used the composted mulch from my city before and amended it did very well in my vegetable garden.

 

[supermanlives]

i wouldnt want hydraulic fluid in my soil mix

 

[CannaExists]

I don't know what Hydraulic is but it sounds like something that smells like supertoxicass.

So, smell the seaweed! Does it smell like something safe for your plants?

 

[Azeotrope]

You say seaweed, but if it is fresh water I wonder if it is milfoil or something else??? At any rate if it isn't polluted, it probably has some nutrient value and most likely breaks down in to humus....

 

[mad librettist]

ask if they use biodegradable fluid, which is based on canola oil.

 

[PrivateAero]

ahh, I've called it seaweed my entire life but you are correct azeotrope, its called Eurasian water milfoil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriophyllum_spicatum
I'll ask them mad librettist, last time it leaked it wasn't biodegradeable (just looked up the article, would post but would give away location).
Thanks for the help guys, I can't wait for spring!!

 

[mad librettist]

I don't see why you can't call it seaweed. It's all just algae.

 

[supermanlives]

i had a hydraulic line rupture on a bobcat while drilling holes. the area where it spilled grew some nasty tomatos that fought to survive.i didnt eat them

 

[Lazyman]

I would get the oldest pile and treat it and make sure you mix it with some other things. I have used the composted mulch from my city before and amended it did very well in my vegetable garden.

Hey bro, just a heads-up, most city compost has EXTREMELY high levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals in it. They almost universally recommend against growing food in the compost for this reason. I had to get one of my buddies to stop growing MMJ in it too, it's just not safe.

 

[zenoonez]

Hey bro, just a heads-up, most city compost has EXTREMELY high levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals in it. They almost universally recommend against growing food in the compost for this reason. I had to get one of my buddies to stop growing MMJ in it too, it's just not safe.

I wonder why. I mean I have seen this stuff from beginning to end. Starts by being picked up by the tree trimming trucks and or yard waste trucks and gets mulched together and sits for months. I will have to send a sample in to the DNR.

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah I never dug in to find out why myself, might have to do with all the disel tractors pushing it around all day for months on end (fumes?) Anyway, if you ask the city garbage for a soil analysis of their compost they probably have one to give you, but every one I've spoken to said it wasn't ok to use if for growing food.

 

[mad librettist]

good points lazyman.

I think maybe the high levels of contamination in the soil around residences is to blame. Lead is taken up readily into leafy greens (but not tomatoes).

Still, I'd like to see EM do its thing with some hydrocarbons. But you are right to caution against doing so with MJ.