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Re: Lead contamination
>Does anyone know the following?
>
>1. does lead naturally occur in soil and at what levels?
>2. Can lead be removed by growing a cover crop and disposing of it
>rather than composting it?
>3. What methods can be used to remove lead from soils?
>4. What is considered a safe level of lead in the soil?
>5. I understand that tomatoes, eggpplant etc. are better to
>grow in lead contaminated soils than leafy greens because the leaves
>absorb ythe lead. Is this correct?
>
Something you should research is the pH ofyour soil. I understand that
lead will only become available to plants when the soil in more acidic. I
am not sure whether this applies to leafy vegetables. As far as removeing
the lead from the soil, a big problem. You might be better off building
beds with a soil compost mixture. Getting back to the availability of lead
to plants, a soil fertility text book would present the effect of pH on
lead availabilty. Contact me if you are not able to locate it.
--
Thomas Hansmeyer
USDA-ARS
St. Paul MN
hansm001@maroon.tc.umn.edu