Herself’s Houston Garden

Gardening for fun and wildlife at the edge of Houston’s piney woods

Ick, human hair used to reduce herbicide use

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Icky, icky. I’ll stick with regular mulches for now.

. . . China and India exported more than $154 million worth of human hair last year, according to United Nations trade statistics. They are Blacker’s main suppliers. . .

The product, marketed as SmartGrow, is effective in keeping out weeds, and has even shown signs of increasing yield in crops like tomatoes, according to University of Florida scientists.

“It’s really exciting. The first trial was just outstanding,” said Aaron Palmateer, an associate professor of plant pathology who has conducted tests on the SmartGrow product at UF’s Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead.

There is an admitted yuck factor to using hair in lieu of herbicide, but Palmateer points out that common agricultural methods can be similarly unappetizing.

. . .[ read more US Demand for Human Hair Grows]

But not only is it being used as an herbicide, now it is being added as a fertilizer.
Human hair makes good fertilizer, and link to paper ($) Human Hair as Nutrient Source for Horticuluture

More information:
SmartGrow

Written by timestocome

February 6th, 2008 at 5:00 am

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