Does anyone have any thoughts on the pros/cons of using whey (from making cheese) as a fertilizer? We were trying to think of a good protein-based fertilizer, and it occurred to us that we have a source for cheap whey. The farmer runs his cows on organic pastures and feeds no hormones or antibiotics.

Am I crazy or is this a good idea?

Judith

I imagine you are contemplating a liquid product, rather than the dried form in which whey usually is sold commercially. On a dry weight basis, whey has about 2% nitrogen and around 65%+ sugars. On a weight basis, liquid whey runs about 0.15% nitrogen and maybe ~ 5% sugars. If it's an acid whey product (> 36 hrs. old), that would seem to work okay with an alkaline soil, but I don't know that you'd want to use it heavily on acidic soils. The acidity is some less with sweet whey, which still might run pH 6 and is typical of the mozarella or cheddar manufacturing process. If there's a knock on whey, it might be the sodium content--maybe ~ 1% on a dry weight basis--and possibly the fat content. Liquid whey would contain maybe 0.06% calcium and 0.07% phosphorus, so that might be something to consider if you have problem soils. Within those constraints, I don't think I would be afraid to use it as a part of an overall organic program, though.

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In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice, they aren't -- lament of the synthetic lifestyle.

Thanks for all of that info! I'll check our soils test and think it over.

Judith