Critical Threshold Reached

After recalculating the world use of Phosphorus, researchers think we have now reached the threshold where stocks will  start declining.

Phosphate rock from which phosphorus is mined from, formed from long dead sea deposits. The deposits are actually  many millions of dead sea creatures, mainly fish; laid down in huge numbers, then covered over by mud and finally over millions of years transformed into Phosphate rich rock.

Deposits of these rocks are found in very few places, the USA, China and Morocco being the main sources. But we have mined them voraciously, transforming the rock, in a particularly dirty manufacturing process, into fertilizer such as superphosphate  and Sodium triphosphate that is used in many laundry powders.

The problem with these chemicals  the Phosphate is in an unnatural soluble state. Phosphorus in soil is only normally unlocked for plant use by bacterial or fungal actions. But we have bypassed that process so that rain will dilute the Phosphorus into a liquid salt that plants will absorb.

The  only trouble is much of the liquid Phosphate washes away before plants can touch it and in the case of the Sodium triphosphate added to washing powders as a form of softener, that too is just in liquid form flushed down the sewers. All this Phosphate ends up in rivers and lakes creating dangerous algal blooms.

This is a complete waste of a resource and it is running out. There are no more ancient seabeds around and non forming in the modern world. Phosphate rock is going to run out. Estimates predict shortages occurring in the next 20 years. This is no news to me, information was around over 35 years ago that this would happen and in about the time scale predicted.

What can we do?

Look for washing powders that do not contain Phosphates. Some manufacturers state this quite plainly on the box. Look for natural washing detergents and you can be more sure of this.

Buy organic foods and grow organically.

Organic practices are the only way to recycle Phosphorus back into the environment. Anything that is composted contains Phosphorus from the crops that the compost is made from. Organic methods also conserve Phosphorus that is released  by natural breakdown in the soil  at a pace that plants need it without wasting the Phosphate by making it too soluble and washing away.

Phosphate poor soils can be topped up with Phosphate rock. That is Phosphate rich rock simply ground up into a fine substance to enrich soil. It is not soluble and will not wash away. One application can last up to four years whereas an application of Superphosphate is only good for one season.

Bone meal is another slow release source of Phosphorus and you are doing a better job of recycling than using  ground Phosphate rock.

Much of the Phosphates wasted in gardens are applied as fertilizers to lawns. Most gardeners apply in a heavy handed way thinking if a little does the lawn good a larger amount will be doubly good. It just simply washes away out of reach from the grass in the next heavy rain.

If you need to apply fertilizer to lawns then use an organic form such as chicken manure, dried cow manure or similar. Blood, fish, bone will also fertilize the lawn and all of them are slow release. Then recycle the lawn mowing's back onto the compost heap where the Phosphorus will end up elsewhere in the garden.

Rake out the moss from the lawn now to invigorate the grass meaning you will not have to add so much fertilizer to get a lovely green sward. Compost the moss of course, it makes a great additive to compost heaps.