Cottonseed meal or soybean meal as fertilizer - toxicity?

Good day to everyone! I am reading Steve Solomon's Gardening When It Counts book. His recommended formula for Complete Organic Fertilizer has cottonseed or soybean meal as a key ingredient. I am wondering about the effect of using this product in today's world. These two meals are now pretty much completely GMO'ed for bt. Since the meal will go into the ground accessible by any living creature and bug, does anyone have any ideas, thoughts, research or links to share about the risks to your garden?

I will send him a direct email to see where he stands. I am hoping someone here has experience or is knowledgeable about the chemical process used to create the seedmeal and if that has the effect of eliminating the bt element in the plant.

Thanks in advance!

Doug

Personally I would avoid them.

Tyler Ludens wrote:Personally I would avoid them.

seconded. not just for the potential issues in my own soil, but because I don't want to support the practices of the folks producing them. Steve Solomon found one effective way to grow vegetables, but it's far from the only way. many would argue that it's also far from the best way.

tel jetson wrote: I don't want to support the practices of the folks producing them.

100% agree.

It appears nothing is sacred anymore. I have always used cottonseed meal but I must admit I do it somewhat
mindlessly. I grew up around cotton production. I can't argue for it except cottonseed meal seems to work.
Pretty soon we will be washing our hands every 5 minutes and wringing them in between.

It's that most of these products come from genetically modified plants.

COTTONSEED MEAL: is produced after the cotton is ginned.
The remaining waste (seeds) are crushed, and their oils are extracted. What remains is the cottonseed meal.

It is often used as an "organic" fertilizer, which really makes me wonder.
Cotton is the most chemically treated crop grown in the US.
Add in the GMO factor, and (IMHO) its value as a nutrient/amendment becomes very dubious.

Cottonseed meal is also often used as an animal feed. It is highly toxic to anything except an adult ruminant
(calves have not yet developed the digestion system needed to break down the toxin...they are essentially "pre-ruminants").

Don't expect to find any in my garden! Don't expect to find soy there either.

I want to thank all the posters on this topic. I had decided to NOT use cottonseed meal nor soybean meal in my fertilizing regime. I really wanted some point blank thoughts and ideas and I GOT it thanks to all of you.

One additional point. I was in my local ag feed store and found the carry flax and linseed meal as animal feed. They do NOT carry cotton or soybean meal. Interesting. I'll do some research on this, I can't imagine big Ag nor big Pharma wanting to corner the market on GMO of flax and linseed meal. I'll also research the plant nutritional aspect of those 2 meals compared to the GMO'd soy and cotton seed meals.

Thanks again to everyone!

Flax seed is highly nutritious. One of the best plant sources for fiber, and omega-3.



Linseed oil is flax seed oil.

linseed oil oxidizes pretty quickly once the seed coat is compromised, and maybe before that depending on who you ask. rancid linseed meal might not have the great health advantages that whole, fresh flax seeds do. in particular, I believe the Omega-3 that gets a lot of press doesn't age well.

Nice!!!

Here is a nice link on a range of 'seedmeals'.

http://www.plantexplorers.com/twiningvine/article_info.php/articles_id/14

alfalfa and flax meal here I go!

If anyone wondered just what is GMO'd or tampered with, it is very easy to find out.
Just go to Monsanto.com, and bounce around their very informative site. They will tell you what they are working on. You could check the Agricultural Seeds List, first
So it would make sense that whatever they claim they are 'perfecting' would be GMO'd. They are working on general vegetable seeds but which they will show you a list of the following, Alfalfa, Canola, Corn, Cotton, Sorghum, Soybeans, Sugarbeets, Wheat in the Agricultural Seeds List
It is noted right in the individual crops list of each crop that it is , 'in-plant tolerance to Roundup agricultural herbicide'
The vegetable seed section notes that they are working on 4,000+ distinct seed varieties representing 20 species.