Experiences with the utilization of wastes in nursery potting mixes and as field soil amendments

Abstract

The nursery/landscape industry has been one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in Canada. Since 1980s, the Ornamental Nursery Research Program at the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario (HRIO) has been conducting research which focuses on environmentally friendly production practices. Emphasis is on the use of composted or uncomposted organic wastes as amendments in container potting mixes. Various projects have evaluated mixes derived from wastes such as spent mushroom compost, paper mill sludge, apple pomace, and various types of barks. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the scope of the research expanded to include composting and a wider assortment of wastes such as waxed corrugated cardboard, municipal solid waste compost, wood chips from pallets and furniture and demolition wastes, food wastes, and organic fertilizers manufactured from meat by-products, and selected industrial wastes. Presently, paper mill sludge is being evaluated as field soil amendment for growing nursery shade trees and also for use in rehabilitating marginal, non-agricultural land. Key words: Waste recycling, land rehabilitation, composts, organic wastes, container culture, shade tree culture, ornamentals, nutrition

Nursery crop response to substrates amended with raw paper mill sludge, composted paper mill sludge and composted municipal waste

“…While nursery producers typically use less than one-third of wastes or composts in substrates (Chong 1999;Bugbee 2002), the results of this study indicate that greater volumes of these materials can be used, especially the composts from municipal waste and the Bio Soil paper sludge. For nursery container culture, we recommended previously that any amount of composted paper mill sludge could be used (Chong and Cline 1994) and up to 60% of raw paper mill sludge, depending on the source (Chong 2003).…”

Mixtures of paper mill sludge, wood chips, bark, and peat in substrates for pot-in-pot shade tree production

“…Any use of organic wastes in horticulture must consider potential hazards to the environment as well as benefits such as cost savings (Chong 1999). Contrary to common misconception, the paper mill sludges produced in Ontario, including the source used in this study, are relatively free of undesirable organic chemicals such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) or dioxins and are low in content of heavy metals (Chong 1999).…”

“…At the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, we observed that growth of pot-in-pot shade trees decreased as the amount of soil increased from 10 to 100% by volume in substrates with or without peat plus bark (Murray et al 1997). We also demonstrated that many non-traditional, organic waste materials, such as spent mushroom substrate, recycled municipal waste, wood chips, and paper mill sludge can be used successfully as alternative and inexpensive amendments for growing shrubs in smaller 6-L (#2) containers (Chong 1999). Similar research has not been conducted with shade trees in large containers.…”

Wood production, wood technology, and biotechnological impacts

“…(Vetter et al 2007) There are further options to use recycled wood chips and fibres as material. Applications encompass mulching material for soil covering and peat substitute for horticulture substrates (Chong 1999; see Chapter 24 of this book), structure material for sewage sludge composting (Lin et al 2001), beddings e.g. in riding schools and in breeding of various animals (Hester et al 1997, Anonymous 2000, Asari et al 2004, Burn & Mason 2005, production of low grade paper (Roffael & Dix 1993), mushroom production ; Fig.…”