From: london@sunSITE.unc.edu (Larry London)
Subject: Book on organic soil amendments & fertilizers (fwd. SANET-MG)
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 02:28:00 GMT

From dechaney@ucdavis.edu Mon Jan 25 21:12:53 1993
From: dechaney@ucdavis.edu
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 93 14:13:29 -0800
To: sanet-mg@oes.orst.edu
Subject: New Publication Available


January 15, 1993

A NEW PUBLICATION FROM:

The UC Sustainable Agriculture 
Research & Education Program
University of California
Davis, CA  95616

Title:  Organic Soil Amendments and Fertilizers
by David Chaney, Laurie Drinkwater, and G. Stuart Pettygrove

Price:  $5.00 (includes shipping and handling) 

Order through:  UC ANR Publications, 6701 San Pablo Avenue,
Oakland, CA  94608-1239.  Tel. (510) 642-2431.  


     DAVIS ~ A new book about recycling organic wastes in
agriculture has been released by the Davis-based UC Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP).  
     "Organic Soil Amendments and Fertilizers was written because
of a growing interest in the use of organic materials as
fertilizers and for improving soil tilth," said David Chaney,
SAREP information analyst and lead author.  "With more and more
materials on the market, deciding which to use and how much to
apply can be a difficult task.  This publication will help
farmers and gardeners with these decisions." 
     He noted that farmers and gardeners are usually interested
in organic soil amendments for several reasons:  poor soil
quality, strict standards for growing "organic" produce which do
not allow the use of petroleum-based fertilizers, access to a
source of organic material or "waste product," increasing cost of
synthetic fertilizers, or a desire to promote recycling and
reduce dependency on synthetic fertilizers.
     Chaney said the publication will serve as both handbook and
reference, with information about selecting and managing various
organic materials available in California.  Organic soil
amendments and fertilizers include animal manures, compost,
sewage sludge, green manures, crop residues, cannery wastes, fish
emulsion and meal, kelp, sawdust and bark.  They are specifically
derived from plants or animals.  "This sense of the term
'organic' is the primary one used in the publication," he said.  
     What makes them unique compared to synthetic materials,
Chaney said, is that their effect on the soil is richer and more
complex than petroleum-based fertilizers.
     Organic Soil Amendments and Fertilizers reports the benefits
of organic matter, provides guidelines for evaluating various
organic amendments and fertilizers, and describes the management
and availability of more than 25 common organic materials.       
"This book was written mainly for a California audience, but I
believe that farmers, advisers, waste management specialists, and
home gardeners everywhere will find it of interest," Chaney said. 
     Chaney's two co-authors are UC Davis Land, Air and Water
Resources soils specialist Stuart Pettygrove and Vegetable Crops
researcher Laurie Drinkwater.  Organic Soil Amendments and
Fertilizers is available for $5.00 (publication 21505, includes
shipping and handling) from UC ANR Publications, 6701 San Pablo
Avenue, Oakland, CA  94608-1239.  Tel. (510) 642-2431.  Media
should contact Chaney at (916) 757-3280.   
                               ###
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture