AU671408B1 - A composition of matter adapted for horticultural use - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 P/00/0 111 Regulation 3.2! Original Complete Specification Standard Patent Invention Title CONPOSITION OF MATTER ADAPTED FOR HIORTICULTURAL USE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing known to me:- This invention relates to a composition of matter for use in horticulture and more particularly to such a composition which not only enhances plant growth but is also composed substantially of waste by-products. The inventive composition is useful as a potting soil or 'mix', a mulch especially a moisture-retaining mulch and/or a fertilising mulch and as a general soil additive.

Most 'potting mixes' presently obtainable are sold under labels which state thereon:- (composed of) "organic base material plus living micro-organisms" or some such similar wording and contain, generally speaking, peat; 'refines' that is to say, wood chips and perhaps a specific fertiliser; together with sand. While the so-called 'black peat' has some fertilising properties, peat is essentially a fossil fuel and is quite an expensive commodity, as it has to be cut or dug out of bogs or peat hags, dried and pulverised. The fertilisers used S* are mostly chemical fertilisers many of which are now being perceived as non-acceptable, phosphate in particular.

These and other problems are overcome by the present Sinvention which provides a composition of matter adapted for 1"a, k /1y conrij neTecfue ctxaO\1A 4% horticultural use, 44e said composition slapr-is-p, inter alia; paunch manure; wood 'refines'; coke-furnace ash; 'sharp river sand'; worm castings and bone mzal.

The above-listed components aze described below:- RE: paunch manure; a ruminate is grazing or browsing animal that 'chews its cud', a ruminate swallows its food most usually grass and the like after chewing only slightly. The food goes down the animals oesophagus into a four chambered stomach, each chamber playing a part in the digestive process.

The first chamber is termed the 'Rumen' or 'paunch', in which most of the slightly-chewed food collects after being swallowed.

When the beast is slaughtered, usually in an abattoir, this content of the Rumen is known as 'paunch manure' and is considered to be a virtually useless waste product of slaughtering. Paunch manure taken from a slaughtered beast is treated before disposal in this case to the manufacturer of horticultural compositions with boiling water (known as 'scalding') and allowed to rot down to an effective degree before the disposal.

'Refines' refers to those fine wood particles, larger than sawdust, which are a waste product of timber mills.

The ash used in the present invention is a waste product from coking furnaces, (sometimes called "retorts").

'Worm castings' are a by product of worm farms; although a worm cast is a convoluted tubular mass of earth voided by an :e earthworm and are thus, strictly speaking, a waste product; nevertheless, worm castings per se have value as an additive to soils.

'Bone meal' consists of crushed or ground bone, together with attendant dried blood, it is also sometimes referred to as 'blood-and-bone'.

'Sharp river sand' refers to coarse sand taken from river beds. Thus the present invention will comprise an effective amount of each of the abovementioned components; that is to say, an amount effective to achieve its intended purpose in the 4invention.

2a Advantageously, the inventive composition is comprised of:from 2 to 5 parts by volume of paunch manure (treated in the manner set out above); from to 2 parts by volume of wood refines;

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from 4 to 3/4 parts by volume of coke furnace ash; from k to 3/4 parts by volume of sharp river sand; from 3/4 to 2 parts by volume of worm castings; AND from 1/50 to 1/30 parts by volume of bone meal.

Particularly desirable is a composition comprised of ki*.e 4a e 4reded 3 parts by volume of paunch manure; 1 part by volume of wood refines; part by volume of coke furnace ash; part by volume of sharp river sand; 1 part by volume of worm castings; AND 1/40th part by volume of bone meal.

At this juncture it should be stated that, in accordance with the practice of the 'plant nursery' products industry, the .o above inventive composition is ideally made up in 1 cubic metre batches, each batch being equal in volume to 55 standard soil mix bags, each of 18 litres volume.

Optional components may include such as stable manure which is of course, the product obtained by the 'mucking-out' of horse S stables. It is initially as well to add lime to prevent the rotted-down final product from becoming acidic.

Rice hulls, either fresh from the milling or composted perhaps with stable manure, may advantageously be added to the inventive composition. Other optional components which may be added include, inter alia, spent mushroom compost; fresh or rotted pine needles; rotted sawdust; pulverised egg shells; fowl manure; rotted leaf matter; peat; mulched or pulped paper; lucerne hay and iron chelate. In regard to the latter, this is *cNT OuU commercially obtainable as a 13% solution of iron as a complex of EDTA; that is to say ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid. It is diluted with water using 5ml of the concentrate to 1 litre of water. The resulting dilute solution is added to the composition of matter in the proportion of 1 to 2 litres (ideally, 1k to 1 litres) per cubic metre of the composition.

In continuing experiments, crushed ironstone has been immersed in water to discover whether enough Fe can be leached out of the ironstone, so that such a solution is useable in the place of expensive iron chelate. Furthermore, it may be that a 50/50 mixture by volume of paper pulp and worm castings will go replace the more expensive peat, subject to further experimentation.

While the present invention has been described in terms of its being a potting soil or 'mix', it also has application as a mulch. The preferred sthod of producing the inventive o. e composition of matter is to 'tumble' the components in such a way that they become pulverised. The composition must then be sieved, or riddled or grizzlied, in known manner and the larger particles removed to be made the basis for the production of mulches. Such mulches may be employed as say, moistureretaining mulches, fertilising mulches, soil additives and the like.

For specific purposes, the above-listed optional components may be added to the inventive composition. For example, rice hulls can be advantageously mixed in with rotted down and limed stable manure and becomes a suitable additive for many purposes; more specifically, however, for an azalea mix, rice hulls should be omitted and replaced with rotted pine needles and perhaps peat or a 50/50 mixture by volume of paper pulp and worm castings. An effective mulch for azaleas may advantageously contain sawdust. Fuchsia and Geranium potting mixes benefit from the addition of spent mushroom compost while for Roses, rotted sawdust and lucerne hay may be added to the basic composition, together with spent mushroom compost, the minimum quantity of paunch manure and the maximum quantity of bone meal.

For Rose mulch, fowl manure should be added. Indigenous that is 'native flora will need the maximum amount of sand, while a fern mix will benefit from the addition of pine needles plus rotted leaf matter and perhaps some peat. Crushed egg shells are useful as a source of calcium and magnesium in many potting mixes except those for 'natives'.

oe** The inventive composition of matter will require no extraneous fertiliser over a plant's full season; moisture is •retained well for the seasonal periods of growth and flowering.

•ace For transplant seedlings, roots take hold within eight weeks, when the plants are ready for bedding out. Plantz exhibit faster root growth and enhanced blooming ability.

Roses thrive over two successive seasons without the need to re-feed; a feeding mulch on Rose beds lasts for both summer and autumn blooming.

From the abovementioned, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications may be made to the invention, without materially departing from its spirit and scope, as defined in the following claims.

Claims (5)

1. 6. THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:- 1. A composition of matter adapted for horticultural use, the said composition comprising an effective amount of each of the following six components:- paunch manure (treated as defined hereinbefore); wood refines; coke-furnace ash; sharp river sand; worm castings; AND bone meal; the said effective amount of each component being such that SaidJ comeostro n of rwtter 'S Q\ejez hwref- the intended purpose of the io d thzA 2. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1, comprising; from 2 to 5 parts by volume of paunch manure; from h to 2h parts by volume of wood refines; from to 2 parts by volume of coke-furnace ash; from 4 to 2 parts by volume of sharp river sand; from h to 2h parts by volume of worm castings; AND from 1/50 to 1/30 part by volume of bone meal. 3. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 2, comprising; parts by volume of paunch manure; 1 part by volume of wood refines; part by volume of coke-furnace ash; 2 part by volume of sharp river sand; 1 part by volume of worm castings; AND 1/40 part by volume of bone meal. 0*0 4. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1, further including any one or more of the following additions:- Stable manure; Rice hulls; Spent mushroom compost; Fresh or rotted pine needles; Rotted sawdust; pulverised egg shells; fowl manure; peat; rotted leaf matter; mulched or pulped paper; lucerne hay; AND iron chelate (as herein before defined). The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1. futher including stable manure and rotted pine needles, said composition being a pottin, ,ix for Azaleas. 6. The composition of matter es claimed in claim 1. further including rotted sawdust, said composition being a mulch **"for Azaleas.
2. 7. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1. further including spent mushroom compost, said composition being a potting mix for Fuchsias and Geraniums.
3. 8. The compositoun of matter as claimed in claim 1. further including spent mushroom compost, rotted sawdust and lucerne hay, said composition being a potting mix for Roses.
4. 9. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 8. further including fowl manure, said composition being now a suitable mulch for Roses. The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1. further including pine needles, rotted leaf matter and peat, said composition being a potting mix for Ferns.
5. 11. A composition of matter adapted for horticultural use, substantially as described hereinbefore. S7 M c RE c ABSTRACT A composition of matter useful as a potting mix or as a mulch is disclosed. The composition essentially consists in a mixture of paunch manure, wood refines, coke-furnace ash, sharp river sand, worm castings and bone meal. The components are tumbled together and subsequently sieved; the larger particles are removed to become the mulch, the smaller particles constituting the potting mix. o