When I was a boy, we used to stop at a local gin and get truck-loads of rotten cotton hulls to mix with the soil in our gardens and flower beds. It was a great supplement for poor quality soil. I have read that cotton growers use so many strong chemicals that cotton hulls are not safe for growing vegetables; does anyone have real data on this?
When I get home from work today I'll have to look into that. I'm not sure myself, maybe someone else can chime in before I return?
SC, I am not sure that the chemicals are a factor. To my knowledge "gin trash" (hulls, seeds, pods) are a primary ingrediant in animal feeds as a filler. We used to haul it away in end dumps, dump in on the ground for cattle feed at the ranch. You have to break the surface and mix after the cattle stomp/poop it down. I do know now with the GM seeds the gins are not allowed to keep some verities of the modified seeds.
I don't know about chemicals in them either. We use them in the oilfield for lost circulation material. They seal up seeping cracks in the well bore. Another good use is in "smudge pots". We can't do it anymore but back in the day we would fill up a 5 gallon bucket (metal) with cotton seed hulls then pour in diesel. The hulls soak up the diesel and when lit will burn for hours. Great way to keep warm on a cold night.
I wouldn't use them because about 73% of the cotton grown in the US is genetically modified BT cotton. They replaced a gene so that the plant creates it's own insecticide. Because of this, they actually use fewer pesticides than they used to. They say that BT proteins don't affect humans, but I wouldn't chance it. Temik is used on cotton (on potatoes too). That stuff is basically granulated nerve gas. From the Bayer website: Q: How dangerous is Temik? A: The active ingredient of Temik is aldicarb which is acutely toxic. Aldicarb is a Schedule 7 poison and makes up 15% of the total formulation, the other portion being gypsum, vinyl and graphite. The unique formulation of Temik minimises hazard through protection of the user by the vinyl-coated granule and Ultima enclosed delivery unit. Poisoning and the effects of Aldicarb are rapidly and spontaneously reversible by administering the appropriate antidote. I also wouldn't eat anything made with cottonseed oil. The stuff is toxic to start out with. They must refine the oil to make it edible. I don't think that cotton as a crop receives scrutiny from the USDA or FDA because it is not a food crop. As such, farmers can get away with higher doses of insecticide. [someone check me on that] Cotton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Bt Cotton Cottonseed oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For that matter dont drink orange juice cause in Florida temik is used by the 55 gal barrels in the citrus groves... Also in the production of Cotton they spray herbicides in order to harvet the cotton.. and other insecticides are used as well. The cotton industry is heavly dependant on Chemicals even after the cotton is turned into a t-shirt... Also, USDA does regulate Cotton its a cash crop either way doesnt need to be a food source..
Yep, the mills used to give it away. I can remember when I was a teenager going to the mill to get load after load of the stuff. Now they sort, grade and sell it to feed mills and big cattle ranchers. The mills in this area will now only sell what is leftover after the mills and ranches have taken all they want. The stuff they give away now is mostly stems and really not fit as a feed product but may work as a soil amendment.
