Organic Weed Control

[Bluefin]

Other than corn meal gluten, what weed control materials do you all use?

[ArizPestWeed]

http://www.ecosmart.com/

They have some

[NattyLawn]

Check out www.farmcropextracts.com, and look at the sponsor forum on here as well.

[NattyLawn]

I forgot to mention the Green Guardian is not organic or chemical, but edible according to green mark and farm crop extracts. It does have urea in it.

[green_mark]

The Green Guardian has "Organic Weed and Pest Controls" these products used for controls do not contain urea. They are used in human and animal food/feed and cosmetic items.

The liquid and granular Weed and/or Feed products which contain in excess of 5% nitrogen do contain feed grade urea. This is an edible form of nitrogen used in animal feeds and human cosmetics. No need to put lip stick on this pig. It is what it is and I refuse to be deceptive.

I am very proud of what we have made. You see, we focus on "Edible" ingredients for one major reason. Organic does in no way provide a measurement of safety. It has been implied that it does, which is inaccurate.

We use only ingredients derived from agricultural byproducts and nutrients fed to animals. This provides what most customers are looking for and it supports the farming community of which I was a member. I never forget my roots.

Now pushing into the organic alternatives to “feed grade” urea. Processed sewage is organic and a good form of nitrogen and other minerals. While I am from a farm that had ~1,000 animals at any given time I have made a "personal" choice not to handle any more of that. I put in my time. I also think I ate enough @#$! and I just never acquired a taste for it.

Other sources are Corn meal, Soy meal, Alfalfa (very low N), Cotton seed meal, Meat Scrapes, Blood and the like. All very good but each has its own advantages and disadvantages i.e. cost, bulk, smell, usability, effectiveness. Some of these ingredients are also utilized in various products we offer. I have stayed clear of animal body parts for two reasons. Most customers and staff dislike the smell and the origin.

Now, the same can be said for every product on the market. No perfect product has been made simply because everyone has a different viewpoint of “perfect”.

Let’s discuss the issue of urea and what form we use.

Yes, Urea is in some of our products. It is Feed Grade and not Ag grade. The difference is the biuret content. We purchase the feed grade form which is edible and has a very low (<0.25%) biuret content. This is why we emphasize that all our products are "Feed Grade" or "Edible" or "Derived from Feed Ingredients".

Why did we choose to avoid biuret? Simply because it is known to cause phytotoxic reactions and who wants burned lawns?

Now, let’s understand the manufacturing process that makes Urea. For the purpose of expediency I will provide the short version. For the long version Goggle "Urea manufacturing process" and "Ammonia manufacturing process” Here you will get an in-depth understanding on how all the nitrogen based products come into existence. A very good visual link is available here.
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/.../haberflow.gif

Anyway, the first step is you have to get ammonia. Where does that come from? "Atmosphere" which is compressed under high temperatures created by using "Natural Gas". It is then combined with carbon dioxide to stabilize it. Now we have Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Carbon. Without these 3 important components life on this planet just would not be the same.

The opinions expressed above are my own and are rooted from my fathers environmental education and stewardship which started me on this journey and my 33 years of farming origins, agronomic and horticultural studies (college and independent), 20 years of turf grass operations, Agricultural byproduct utilization research, plant and insect physiology and true passion for this business.

AFTER ALL, AS AN INDUSTRY, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE TO PROPERLY STEWARD OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE, TURF. AFTER ALL TURF CREATES MORE OXYGEN PER ACRE THAN THE RAINFOREST!

[nocutting]

Originally Posted by NattyLawn

I forgot to mention the Green Guardian is not organic or chemical, but edible according to green mark and farm crop extracts. It does have urea in it.

Matt, does this mean organic crops arent edible anymore? and because its "Edible" it safe for all of man kind?"

[muddstopper]

Originally Posted by green_mark

Let’s discuss the issue of urea and what form we use.

Yes, Urea is in some of our products. It is Feed Grade and not Ag grade. The difference is the biuret content. We purchase the feed grade form which is edible and has a very low (<0.25%) biuret content. This is why we emphasize that all our products are "Feed Grade" or "Edible" or "Derived from Feed Ingredients".

Why did we choose to avoid biuret? Simply because it is known to cause phytotoxic reactions and who wants burned lawns?

BIURET
NH2-CO-NH-CO-NH2, produced from urea by heating, contains 41% nitrogen (256% CP). It is only slightly soluble in water and is not toxic as the ammonia is slowly released in the rumen. It therefore has definite advantages over urea for use in dry feeds, although it is more expensive. An adaptation period of two weeks to two months is required before obtaining a response to feeding biuret. This adaptation is rapidly lost when biuret is not fed

Only animals with a functioning rumen can utilize urea; therefore it should not be given to young calves and monogastric animals. Unlike protein, urea does not contain energy, phosphorus or sulphur; hence a feed mixture containing urea should be supplemented to make up for these deficiencies. Poor results are usually experienced with urea when fats provide a substantial portion of the energy in the diet.

While urea is, indeed, an organic compound, it will not support the bacterial growth that is essential for the formation of humus. When urea is metabolized, the products are ammonia and carbon dioxide. Thus, urea yields carbon in a form that will not support the oxidative metabolism of soil bacteria. To accomplish that, carbon must be in the reduced state, combined with hydrogen as it is failing to support the growth of soil bacteria, and therefore the formation of humus, it does not quality as an "organic fertilizer."

Dr. Barry Commoner
Director, Center for the Biology of Natural Systems

[DUSTYCEDAR]

not sure where i fell of the bus but i did now i have to catch up

[muddstopper]

Dusty, not sure if your reply was in reference to my post or not. the purpose of my post was to point out the misconception that Urea is considered a safe food grade product. It is not.

Only animals with a functioning rumen can utilize urea; therefore it should not be given to young calves and monogastric animals.

People do not have functioning rumen and therefore cannot utilize urea in their diets. I am sure that most of Green Mark's food grade products might be edible and digestable by humans, even some soils have been determined to be digestable, but just because something is called food grade doesnt mean it is safe to consume. there are a lot of products in the food we buy at stores that contain food grade additives and those additives have been proven toxic at certain levels.
I havent seen or tested any of the green mark products or seen a MSDS sheet, just voiceing my thoughts on the food grade urea.

[DUSTYCEDAR]

thanks mud i just caught up t0 the buss
and i guess its all in how someone interpits something as to how it can be classified