"Matthew Reed" nospam at zootal dot com nospam wrote in message
...


It should be made clear to the OP that if the chemicals dissipate during
composting, it's time and perhaps rain that are causing it, not the
bacterial action of the composting. If he uses a covered compost bin,
which would prevent rain from washing through the material, he may, in
fact end up with no reduction of chemicals at all. Without actually
having the compost tested, all he has to go on is how he and others here
interpret what it says on the chemical's label.


This I understand IE that the chemicals may not break down but have to
leach out in time. What is unclear is how fast the chemicals break down,
if they break down, how fast they leach out, and how dangerous they really
are, and what happens if they are present in the crops at a level too low
to kill the crops, but high enough to hurt us if we eat them? Too many
unknowns here. I went to Scott's website, where they have a link to a
lively forum, gardenadvice.com, and I asked there. Haven't received an
answer yet. I think I'll play it safe and just spread the stuff over a
compost pile slated to be used next year. We get a lot of rain here, and I
suspect they chemicals will leach out in time.

Hmm...the ground water level here is about 9 feet deep (I have a 17 foot
well, standing water level is at 9 feet. My basement floods if we get a
lot of rain), what are the dangers of this stuff leaching into the ground
water?


1) If you had money to burn on professional laboratory testing, and endless
curiosity, you could find out how fast they break down and how fast they
leach out. However, the only way to know if any ingested chemical is safe is
to test it on humans. This is why nobody can tell you if they're safe. It's
up to you to guess, just like the companies which sell them. I appreciate
humor, so if you get a response from Scott's, I'd love to see it posted
here.

2) About your basement: The chances of the chemicals entering with the flood
water are exactly the same as for ANY substance contained in the water.