Foodie In Florence: Compost: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Our third and final Uconn professor is here in Florence and making waves! He is a professor of the soil sciences who has devoted his life work to preventing the pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus that comes from within our soils.

He has taken such an interest because the pollution of those elements can cause children to be poisoned from drinking nitrous water, produce crop yields to be limited, and many bodies of water including the Long Island Sounds to be turned into dead zones (Too much nitrogen and phosphorus goes into the Sound and turns into algae. When this algae dies it takes up oxygen. When oxygen leaves, marine life dies)

On our first day of class he told us that organic compost gardens pollutes just as much as gardens that use synthetic fertilizers! The worst part? He's right. So, how does this happen. It comes from using synthetic fertilizers and even ORGANIC COMPOST! Nitrogen and phosphorus are key in growing the most beautiful fruits and veggies but too much will lessen yields and pollute water due to runoff (like rain or flooding) Who knew? 

In order to prevent this pollution and become the ultimate backyard gardener all that needs to be done is test the soil and your compost. That way you'll never add more than your garden needs. Excess nutrients won't leave the soil and will be retained in the plants. Gardeners can take a soil and compost sample to a local facility or up to Uconn to get the proper results. By testing your soil you could save time and energy by not having to fuss with finding and spreading manure if you find out your nitrogen and phosphorus levels are OK. So, in the case of gardening, more isn't better.

By putting in a little extra effort your gardens will take off and you'll be saving our Sound!

Buon Appetito!