Milorganite

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 12, 2007 10:47 am

Hi,

Hope I spelled that name right. It's a fertilizer that daylily growers use to keep deer away. Does anyone know if it's bad or good for the hostas?

MollyD

barbara · Post by **barbara** » Jun 12, 2007 11:17 am

I've used it, I think the hostas like it.

DBoweMD · Post by **DBoweMD** » Jun 12, 2007 11:19 am

It is great for hostas, I use it when I have time. Don't use it indoors, it stinks.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 12, 2007 11:42 am

Thanks guys. I won't be using it indoors! I mainly wanted to keep the deer from the hostas. I understand rabbits too are put off by it so it seemed a win-win product for me. Off to scatter some among the hostas then.

MollyD

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Jun 12, 2007 11:46 am

Molly, I spread it around the perimeter of my yard every year, neighborhood rabbits never come here anymore.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 12, 2007 12:50 pm

I am so glad to hear that! How thickly do you spread it for it to work?

Thanks!
MollyD

playinmud · Post by **playinmud** » Jun 12, 2007 5:01 pm

Molly,

I just wouldn't use it in the veggie garden, its sewer sludge (human waste). Contains heavy metals that might not be good for you if ingested through the food crop. Heinz corp. won't buy tomatoes for their ketchup products from any farmer that uses milorganite or had used it in the past, because once the heavy metals are there, they're there to stay.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 12, 2007 6:16 pm

Thanks Donna. I was aware of this. I just wondered if it was good or bad for hostas since I was unfamiliar with their needs.

MollyD

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Jun 12, 2007 10:04 pm

My hostas love it! I thought they corrected that heavy metal problem years ago?

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 12, 2007 10:39 pm

Don't know Charla. I've always been told the problem was there so I don't use it on veggies/fruits. Just ornamentals. I figure why take a chance with so many other things out there to fertilize my food stuff.

MollyD

eastwood2007 · Post by **eastwood2007** » Jun 12, 2007 11:45 pm

Yeah, I don't use it in with food stuff, but I use it about once a year on my lawn in addition to several times per year on my hostas. I used it on my baby hostas that I sowed late January, and man what a difference in a hurry! And I had been giving them light fertilizer regularly.

Since my dogs are outside dogs and frequently eat the grass, I wonder if there is a concern. I knew there was a problem like 20 years ago, but I thought it was corrected. I'd like to hear from someone who knows.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 13, 2007 10:16 am

Hmmmm I just transplanted about a dozen babies into the ground to see if they would grow better there. Maybe a little worked into the soil around them?

MollyD

MikeWI · Post by **MikeWI** » Jun 13, 2007 12:40 pm

there shouldn't be any issue with heavy metals any longer as it meats FDA standards....so it should be useable anywhere u'd like to use it.....

http://www.milorganite.com/home/faqs.cfm

playinmud · Post by **playinmud** » Jun 13, 2007 1:38 pm

Mike,

I'm still be a bit leary despite what the FDA says (I wonder if the regulations have been lowered, because I doubt that the metal content has declined). My thinking is with all the toxins we come into contact with, why add a few more. I had read a paper by the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University.

http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/milorganite.pdf

I think we ought to use it with caution.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 13, 2007 1:52 pm

Thanks for posting that article Donna. I am most definitely not using it on anything we're going to eat!

MollyD

MikeWI · Post by **MikeWI** » Jun 13, 2007 2:16 pm

i agree to some extent... but I've also seen raw sludge dumped in corn fields, etc.... at least this is processed... they've done some things to reduce the amt. I'd have to say atleast the deer still look healthy!!!

poppi · Post by **poppi** » Jun 13, 2007 4:33 pm

I've used it, but it didn't seem to affect the deer.

Do you have to use it alot, i.e. repeated, frequent applications? That might harm the plants if used too often.

MollyD · Post by **MollyD** » Jun 13, 2007 5:51 pm

Poppi,

I believe you're suppose to put it around your garden, not in it. Like a fence sort of.

MollyD

DBoweMD · Post by **DBoweMD** » Jun 14, 2007 8:56 am

This is just a medical point and I have no idea about the danger, if any, in Milorganite. Heavy metals are particularly bad because once we ingest them we can't eliminate them. Neither can fish or birds.
Milorganite contains the stuff that humans have eliminated, so I would be really surprised to see heavy metals in it.
I also am not aware of any cases of heavy metal poisoning from eating vegetables. It's generally caused by accidental ingestion or inhalation of chemicals like the dust of sanded lead based paint.
I use Milorganite and don't worry about it.

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » Jun 14, 2007 9:17 am

Isn't it great to have a doctor in the house?

Molly, I walk it around the yard a couple times per season with a hand held spreader, around the edges, on the lawn, and in the beds.