Bill who putters wrote:
I always thought that what was local was best and cheaper. I swear by
wood chips. Marton NJ 20 miles away gave me green sand and I
purchased granite dust in the day. Other things brought in was
various manures if I cleaned it up the coop or stall.
Green manures are a given sort of like roots trying to help the soil.
Dried blood and bone meal too. (Prions) I've also composted barber
hair and sea weed along with fish and game innards.

Question ....are some amendments deleterious more than others?

Peat got me questioning thinking.

I think the problem has several parts.

1) What is suitable for domestic composting? I have composted corpses too
but you have to bury them deep or some kindly neighbour will unearth them
for you. My heaps are large and away from houses.

2) What is acceptable to the residents? In this district chicken litter is
applied to the fields in quantity (but usually only once a year or less)
which is clearly not possible in a city for several reasons. Some farmers
were using sewerage sludge often and not following the rules about turning
it in straight away. They were castigated and required to cease.

3) What can be harmful in itself to the environment? Some minerals eg
gypsum can contain heavy metals and so long term application is not good.
Some sewerage sludge can also contain things like heavy metals.
Inappropriate application of soluble fertiliser near waterways pollutes them
considerably. Blooms of algae and water plants can be a huge environmental
headache.

4) What is a reasonable price in cash? I don't know about the
sustainability of harvesting peat moss, I don't use it because it is very
expensive here and there are plenty of alternatives, probably because it has
to travel a long way. That in itself may render it unsustainbale here in
the long run.

5) What is not sustainable in the long term? Fill in your own blanks here,
probably anything with a fixed supply and a growing rate of use, petroleum
and phosphate rock are obvious. Anything that has to be carried a long
distance is doubtful. Anything that is a byproduct is attractive provided
it passes the other tests.

In summary use what is local as much as possible and THINK before you apply
it every time.

David