No, Chilean nitrate is a natural geological deposit, which did give Chile a
virtual monopoly on nitrates until the Haber-Bosch process was
developed...You can look it up in the encyclopedia under sodium nitrate, or
under the evaporite minerals...
>
>Secondly, I don't know of any organic certifier that has a "a default
>allowance for natural
>substances along with a default rejection of synthetic substances." This
>is ridiculous. Organic certifiers evaluate substances in terms of their
>effects on natural agroecosystem processes or on the quality of the food
>produced. Some synthetic substances are allowed and some "natural"
>substances,as you note, are banned. Among the latter is Chilean nitrates.
> As Loren states, their effect on the soil is virtually the same as
>synthetic sodium nitrate--e.g. negative for soil microbiology in general
>and negative for the environment due to excess N runoff. I am not aware of
>the "20% rule". IFOAM carried out a study on the reasons for the ban and
>has a publication explaining this in detail.
Andre Voisin mentions the use of sodium nitrate in Grass
Productivity---grass roots would make an excellent capture medium for the
nitrates---and the sodium would only be a problem in low rainfall areas or
where sodium levels were high....
Its use is allowed on a restricted basis by ecological landscaping
standards, and at least has been allowed by some organic certifiers....here
checking with the specific certifier you have, or have in mind, seems
appropriate....
The best place to get N, if you can, is on-site legumes.....
Frank Teuton
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