MX2008009141A - High organic matter products and related systems forrestoring organic matter and nutrients in soil - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to high organic matter plant food products for agronomic uses. Also disclosed are combination products comprising the high organic matter plant food products, articles made from and incorporating same and methods of using same in agricultural operations for restoration and/or maintenance of organic matter values and/or nutrient values in soils, particularly certified organic farm soils.

Description

PRODUCTS OF HIGH CONTENT OF ORGANIC MATTER AND RELATED SYSTEMS, TO RESTORE ORGANIC MATTER AND NUTRIENTS IN SOILS FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns vegetable food products with a high content of organic matter for agricultural uses. Also described are products in combination that comprise high-organic vegetable food products, articles made from and incorporated into them, and methods of using them in agricultural operations for the restoration and / or maintenance of organic matter values and values. of nutrients in soils, particularly certified organic soils of farms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is an increasingly serious problem in almost all aspects of agricultural depletion of organic matter in soils. This problem exists across the agricultural spectrum of farm operations, silage farms and ranches, pasture farms, golf courses, commercial landscapes, and residential lawns for many other agricultural operations. The problems become more acute in operations where develops, cuts and separates from the growing site a green crop. And the problem is exacerbated by the application of conventional chemical fertilizers, which merely accelerate or improve the growth of the green crop that is taken out, thus depleting the organic matter of the soil even more rapidly. Chemical fertilizers usually do not contribute to restoring or maintaining the content of organic matter in the soil. The problem is not really so acute in some crop operations, such as grain production, where straw and stems are returned to the soil after harvest, but, however, soils are being depleted of organic matter as well. Soils that are depleted of organic matter or have organic matter content lower than necessary have reduced nutrient retention capacity (cation exchange capacity). These soils are not capable of adequately retaining nutrients, including those of conventional chemical fertilizers N-P-K, in the area of the root of the plant in plant forms available for plant uptake. Consequently, nutrients of chemical fertilizer value are filtered from the soils from rain or during irrigation and contaminate the surface and groundwater. The pollution problem is composed of fact that when the chemical fertilizer seeps out and is not effective when greening or developing the crop, the operator frequently applies even more chemicals that filter. Without proper maintenance of the organic matter content in the soil, the result is an endless and shortened site that results in more intense ground and surface water contamination. Local, state and federal Environmental Protection Agencies, as well as local counties and city government agencies, are paying increasing attention to this contamination problem caused by the filtration of chemical fertilizers from soils. The proposed regulations restrict or limit the use of chemical fertilizers in many applications such as golf courses, are under consideration or already in effect at various levels of government. The agricultural industries have not had a solution to the problem of depletion of organic matter that are feasible or economically viable. Current practices for the maintenance and restoration of organic matter include crops with green manures, peat, compost, raw and decomposed or composted animal manures and similar methods. The green manure is something effective in maintaining organic matter but requires removing the land from normal production for one or more regular growth cycles while a green manure crop, such as Sudan grass, it is grown and plowed below the zureo. This practice reduces the economic viability of many operations, and is not practical in many operations such as golf courses, orchards and vineyards. Peat is difficult to apply on a large scale and is expensive based on organic matter due to the high water content. Compost materials are not very effective and have components such as weed seeds and other contaminants that cause problems in the agricultural operation. Compost is somewhat difficult to apply and has its own set of environmental problems that include dust and particulate material, greenhouse gas emissions and contamination of ground and surface water, particularly at the compost application site. Composted or decomposed raw fertilizers have problems similar to other compost and are restricted in the application to crops for human food due to contamination by pathogens. Therefore, it is obvious that there is a need for an effective and economically viable solution to the problems of the depletion of organic matter in soils. The products and methods of this invention provide solutions to these problems. Another aspect of soil maintenance is the need for the replacement and maintenance of nutrients (and organic matter) in the production of certified organic foods and the need to use inputs that are qualified as organic for the production of certified organic crops. Some fertilizers, composts and similar materials qualify as organic inputs, but are depleted with the aforementioned drawbacks and other problems. The technology developed to date to produce certified organic fertilizer products has not been satisfactory due to one or more problems in the quality of the product, environmental acceptability or economic feasibility of providing a commercial product at a reasonable price. Examples of prior art and publications that have been directed to the production of organic fertilizer products are U.S. Patents. 5,354,349 to Inoue; 6,461,399 to Cornnell; 6,517,600 and 6,645,267 Dinel; U.S. patent applications 2003/0038078 by Stamper et al., 2003/0089151 and 2003/0136165 by Logan et al., And 2003/0111410 by Branson, whose description is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. There is a substantial need for unsatisfied environmentally acceptable and economically feasible technologies for cost effective products and systems to provide maintenance and restoration of soil organic matter, and systems to provide restoration and maintenance not only of organic matter but also of available plant nutrients. in certified organic agricultural soils. The present invention is directed to products, methods, and systems to meet some or all of these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides economical and simplified products, methods and systems for increasing organic matter in soils with organic organic vegetable food products that are rich in organic matter and low in moisture content. The present invention additionally provides economical and simplified products, methods, and systems for providing organic plant food products for certified organic farm crops that restore and / or They maintain both the content of organic matter and the content of plant nutrients available from soils.

In another aspect, this invention includes methods for producing organic vegetable food products high in organic matter and low in water content which comprise drying an organic raw material and preferably thermally converting its components to provide self-binding properties in organic vegetable food products. . In another aspect, this invention provides novel organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention were formed from organic raw materials and are characterized by high content of organic matter of more than about 60% by weight and low moisture content of less than 60% by weight. about 20% by weight. Preferably the content of organic matter is more than about 70%, or about 80%, or about 90% by weight and the moisture content is less than about 15% or about 10% or about 8% by weight. The novel organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention are also characterized by a high organic moisture content by weight ratio of at least about 1.5: 1, preferably at least 3: 1 and more preferably at least 4: 1 or more. about 5: 1 or about 8: 1 or about 9: 1 or higher. In another aspect, this invention provides an organic vegetable food product having a ratio of organic matter to water of at least about 1.5: 1, preferably of at least about 2: 1 and more preferably of more than 9: 1.

In another aspect, this invention provides novel organic plant food products and the materials of this invention comprising high organic matter formed from undigested organic raw material, which means organic raw material that substantially recent, such as recent organic waste and not have undergone significant digestion, composted or not composted. These new organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention are also characterized by high content of organic matter of more than about 60% by weight and low moisture content of less than about 20% by weight and preferably the content of organic matter is more than about 70%, or about 80% or about 90% by weight and the moisture content is less than about 15% or about 10% or about 8% by weight. These new products and food materials Organic vegetables of this invention are also characterized by a high organic moisture content by weight ratio of at least about 1.5: 1, preferably at least 3: 1 and more preferably at least about 4: 1 or about 5: 1 or approximately 8: 1 or approximately 9: 1 or higher. In another aspect, this invention provides an organic vegetable food product high in organic matter and low in moisture in combination with one or more conventional chemical fertilizers. In another aspect, this invention provides an organic vegetable food product high in organic matter and low in moisture in combination with one or more biopesticides. In another aspect, this invention provides an organic vegetable food product high in organic matter and low in moisture in combination with one or more conventional pesticides. In another aspect, this invention provides organic plant food products and the materials of this invention provide new shaped products and articles due to the self-bonding properties of the organic plant food products and materials of this invention. Self-bonding properties of products and materials they facilitate the formation of materials and products in forms and articles without the need for the addition of polymeric materials and other binders. Although optional and conventional binders can be added to organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention when shaped into articles in order to provide particular strength properties desired in the final article, a preferred embodiment of this aspect of this invention is to form such articles. using the self-bonding properties of the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention. In another aspect, this invention provides methods of producing crops using the organic plant food products or materials of this invention by means of the steps of applying the organic plant food products or materials of this invention to the soil, planting the crop in the soil, and harvesting. cultivating, or applying the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention to the soil where a crop is growing and harvesting the crop. In another aspect, this invention provides methods of producing meat or dairy products using food products and materials, organic vegetables of this invention by means of the steps of applying the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention to the soil, planting the crop in the soil and harvesting the crop, or applying the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention to the soil where a Cultivation is growing, harvesting the crop, feeding the crop harvested to the cattle and producing meat products or dairy products from this livestock. The above aspects and other aspects will be obvious to an expert in the art from the present description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention provides efficient and simplified solutions to problems of less than the desired levels of crop production caused by depletion of organic matter and nutrients in soils and the increasingly severe problem of environmental pollution caused by depletion of matter organic soil and application of chemical fertilizers. The present invention provides new technology in the form of organic vegetable food products, including processes and systems for the use of them, which have high organic matter and low humidity. These organic vegetable food products can be produced in any desired solid form, such as powder, flakes, granules, tablets, pills, blocks, molded and shaped articles and other forms, as well as in the form of slurries. A complete description of the apparatuses, methods and systems for the economic and new production of these organic vegetable food products are contained in the U.S. Patent Applications. provisionally and commonly assigned with Nos. of Series 11 / 184,738 and 11 / 184,739 filed on July 18, 2005, the descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present invention is directed to organic vegetable food products and their uses in various methods and combinations with other materials, although methods, apparatus and systems that facilitate the manufacture and production of organic vegetable food products are described in said incorporated provisional applications. to the present. The term "organic raw material" is used herein to mean and include organic waste and other materials that comprise organic matter, but which may optionally include inorganic matter in admixture therewith. The organic raw material will be usually organic waste material due to economic reasons, but they can also be virgin organic materials. They are included in the category of waste organic matter: raw material of fertilizers, woody or cellulose products and chemical waste from agricultural operations, such as bagasse, rice husks, straw, alfalfa, lawn and pruning of vineyards, citrus pulp, corn cobs, beet pulp, hatchery waste, park waste, field waste, fungal development waste, etc., from sawmill and forestry operations, such as scraped wood, sawdust, bark, borders, etc. ., from pulp and paper operations, including the black liquor of the Kraft-style milling of sulphate pulp, from deinking milling operations, from nursery operations, such as dead or diseased plants; food processing waste, from the manufacture of processed or pre-processed food products, such as frozen foods, pre-prepared ready-to-eat salad mixes, warming and serving meals, packaged foods and business food services, such as restaurants, institutional suppliers of meals, suppliers of airline meals, etc; waste meats, bones, waste, skin, bird waste, feathers, feather meal, hair, hair meal, edible fish and shellfish meal, blood, blood meal, bone meal, etc., of traces and meat and fish packing operations; livestock, birds and farm pets, pastures, traces, and veterinary clinics, including cattle, sheep goats, oxen, horses, chickens, geese, ducks, and virtually any other animal from any source in carcass, parts, organs or tissues that They must be discarded from; body parts, organs and tissues of medical facilities; waste from the fermentation and distillation operation, such as soy sauce waste, wine and final faeces, rejection of tofu; skins and seeds of grapes, pulps and residues of acidic pulps, operations of cheese making, waste recycling operations, such as paper, cardboard, etc., and other manufacturing and processing operations, service involving organic materials. Typically, the waste material will have a high water content, as will be discussed later. The term "raw material for compost" is used herein to mean and includes the waste matter excreted from animals such as feces and / or urine, such as, but not limited to, human (municipal sewage, raw or sludge) , cattle (meat, milk, buffalo, veal, etc.), horses, sheep, pigs, birds (chickens, turkeys, ostriches, pigeons, etc.) goats, mink, veterinarians, field, stables, autodrome, rodeos, fairs, paddocks, barns, zoos, aquatic (fish, shrimp, etc.), moose (and other deer), llama, alpaca, as well as other operations and sources of wastewater or fertilizers, and any mixture thereof. Bonus raw material, as used herein, includes such materials together with other materials normally present in agricultural operations where said material is produced, such as straw, filler (which is typically shredded paper, wood chips, etc.), hair , feathers, insects, rodents, etc., if the proportion of said matter to other mentioned materials varies from very low to very high. Raw material for fertilizer, as used herein, includes such material in its raw form, any prepared form and mixtures thereof with other materials such as other bio-materials (park waste, green waste, etc.), additives, auxiliaries of process, bone meal, fish meal and the like, including when the material is fresh, totally bioconverted by composting, digestion, etc., or is in any intermediate stage, because even composted organic material still contains useful organic matter in this invention. It will be recognized that, when other components, such as bone meal, etc., are added to, mixed with or included in the raw material for compost for processing according to the invention, said additional components will also benefit from the destruction or conversion thermal from the undesirable components listed above, such as prion, etc., just when the raw material for fertilizer benefits. Therefore, it may be desirable to mix contaminated materials, such as straw containing pesticides, bone meal containing prions, etc. With the fertilizer to be processed, so that those contaminants can be converted or destroyed during the processing of the raw material for fertilizer to produce the organic vegetable food products of this invention. The term "organic raw material" is also used herein to include intermediate products and raw materials for further processing into other products that are not waste products. For example, the processes in said provisional applications to elate the products of the invention provide economic processes and systems for the removal of water from various organic materials and process streams and / or provide heating to thermally convert or to react the organic matter to a converted or reacted product (in continuous or discontinuous operations), which form the organic vegetable food material of this invention. Other examples of the various sources of raw materials for producing the organic plant products of this invention include drying and treating trace wastes, papermaking and wood processing waste or intermediate streams to produce recyclable cellulose, paper or wood materials. or products useful in the manufacture of agglomerate, cardboard, etc., dry and process potato husks and other waste from potato processing facilities, water removal and / or converting process streams (cooking, pasteurizing, sterilize, etc.) in facilities for the production of human food, such as the production of oatmeal, corn flakes, corn syrup, corn flour, crushed potatoes, sugar, milk, cheese, food snacks and other products foodstuffs such as pet food; and removal of water from and / or currents of conversion or reaction processes in drugs, chemicals and other manufacturing facilities to produce organic vegetable food products of this invention.

The self-binding properties of the organic vegetable food products of this invention are a preferred aspect of this invention. Conventional binders and additives may optionally be used to provide desired physical strength properties of the granules, tablets, pills, molded shapes, articles and after forms of the organic plant food products of this invention. However, it is preferred that the organic raw material be processed to produce the organic vegetable food products of this invention so that it is self-binder, as described in the provisional applications mentioned above. Although it is not understood and is not associated with any particular theory, it is believed that components of starch, protein, carbohydrate and sugar present in the organic raw material are converted to gluten-like materials that can act as binders and that ligand-type components can be used. oily are polymerized to act as ligands. The optimum conditions for achieving an optimum self-binding product can be determined for a particular organic raw material after the present description. The solid forms in which the organic vegetable food product, from granules to forms molded can be achieved with the addition of binders or without adding binders. As used herein the term "organic vegetable food product" is used to refer to and mean a processed organic raw material that is produced by reducing the moisture content of the organic raw material from a higher level to a lower level according to this invention and the processes described in said provisional applications and / or achieve the chemical alterations and conversions mentioned herein and in said provisional requests. The term "organic plant food material" refers to and means a material that is suitable for further processing into a suitable organic vegetable food product for consumer, commercial or industrial use. Typically the materials of the drying vessel and the drying step used in the apparatus and process for conversion of organic raw material to organic vegetable food materials and organic vegetable food products of this invention will be processed by grinding to produce a powder or flour, followed by granulation, compression or compaction of the powder or flour to produce the final organic vegetable food product suitable for dry applications in an operation of growing harvest. The organic plant food material can also be ground or otherwise pulverized and converted into a slurry or other liquid or pumpable product that can be applied to the soil in a growing harvest operation in wet form, or applied to hills or cliffs in sowing or recovery applications, such as hydro-mulching, hydro-seeding and hydro-planting of grass against erosion, or can be used to cover seeds for such uses or for aerial planting or seed drilling. Similarly, the product of the drying container material can be processed proportionally to form a packaged or packaged product similar to natural peat, but having a much higher proportion of organic matter at moisture (in 20%, 30%, 40% , 50% or 60% or more) than natural peat. In the case where the organic raw material is partial or mostly bioconverted or digested, such as sewage sludge, the material produced by the drying vessel can still be formed into a peat-like product, which is useful as a floor construction product. Although said product may not be as high in nutrient value as that produced from undigested raw material, it will have the organic matter to high moisture content of in accordance with this invention. The raw material leaving the drying container, whether of fresh or bio-converted raw material, it can be the final organic vegetable food product that can be packed, packed or shaped into a desired shape and suitable for use in various farm and agricultural operations. For example, it could be formed in long "winding" rolls, similar to the undulating rolls of straw, for use in erosion control at construction sites. Such rolls made from materials of this invention will be as effective in controlling physical erosion as straw rolls, but because of the higher nutrient content and / or higher organic matter compared to straw, rolls will encourage and facilitate easier growth and more vegetation due to the organic matter added to the soil by means of the organic plant food products of the invention to the site for the control of vegetation erosion after the rolls have disintegrated and they are no longer effective as a physical protector. The organic plant food material of the drying vessel can also be combined with binders, such as molten urea, to form products for agricultural use. It is recognized that these materials or Products can be mixed with other materials or chemicals as described elsewhere in this. The new organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention are characterized by high content of organic matter of more than 60% by weight and low moisture content of less than about 20% by weight. Preferably the content of organic matter is greater than about 70%, or about 80%, or about 90% by weight and the moisture content is less than about 15% or about 10% or about 8% by weight. The novel organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention are also characterized by a high organic moisture content by weight ratio of at least about 1.5: 1, preferably at least about 3: 1 and more preferably at least about 4: 1 or more. about 5: 1 or about 8: 1 or about 9: 1 or greater. The new organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention preferably comprise organic matter formed from undigested organic raw material, which means substantially fresh organic material, such as recent organic waste, and have not suffered significant digestion, composting or decomposition. These new products and organic vegetable food materials of this invention are also characterized by the high content of organic matter of more than 60% by weight and low moisture content of less than about 20% by weight and preferably the content of organic material is higher that about 70%, or about 80% or about 90% by weight and the moisture content is less than about 15% or about 10% or about 8% by weight. These new organic vegetable foodstuffs and materials of this invention are also characterized by a high proportion by weight of organic matter to moisture of at least 1.5: 1, preferably at least about 3: 1 and more preferably at least about 4: 1 or about 5: 1 or approximately 8: 1 or approximately 9: 1 or higher. Either one or the other or both of the above new organic plant and food products and materials of this invention are preferably dry and converted organic matter, preferably undigested, sufficiently dry and treated at temperatures and times such that the resulting product is sufficiently self-sufficient. binder for stable granules or other forms suitable for use commercial. The temperatures and times for converting an organic raw material to a self-binder product are described in the provisional applications mentioned above. The organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention provide new products and articles due to the self-binding properties of the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention. The self-binding properties of products and materials facilitate the formation of materials and products in forms and articles without the need for the addition of polymeric materials and other binders. Although optional and conventional binders may be added to the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention when they are shaped into articles in order to provide particular strength properties desired in the final article, a preferred embodiment of this aspect of this invention is to form such articles. using the self-agglutinating properties of the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention. Examples of the shapes and articles that can be made using the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention are shown in U.S. Pat. No 6, of Zantem et al., the description of which is incorporated herein by reference, wherein root media or growth plugs are described as being made from a complex mixture of peat, soil or vermiculite with a polymeric binder. In the present invention, organic vegetable food and materials can be formed in such forms without the need for a binder. In other forms of the self-binding organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention can be formed include compressed multi-compartment retainer containers, trays and bands and other conventional forms used by greenhouses and other horticulture industries. The advantages of molded and shaped articles formed from the self-binding organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention include the lower manufacturing costs since a binder is not necessary, and the benefit of organic matter to the soil in which the fillings, containers or other forms are placed so that the seeds or seedlings grow with an unwanted residue, like polymeric binder material, left in the soil. The methods of forming, molding or shaping the organic plant products and materials of this invention in fillings, containers, etc. Desired are in the conventional methods of forming the material in a slurry, casting in open molds or molding under pressure to form the desired shape and drying the moisture content to the desired level to provide the desired strength of the article or shape. Such conventional methods are described in the reference by Zanten et al incorporated herein by reference and in the references cited therein. The organic vegetable food products of this invention are preferred for use in certified organic farms because the products of this invention contain high organic matter and organic soil nutrients, especially nitrogen, and do not contain weed seeds or viable pathog However, the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention are also advantageous for use in non-certified and conventional organic farms where, with an equivalent nitrogen base, the organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention can provide 10% increase in crop yield compared to chemical fertilizer, which is believed to be due to the organic matter content of these products that more effectively retain nitrogen in the soil for plant uptake and / or organic nitrogen in these products that is effected more than a slow-release nitrogen, which provides increasing effectiveness of the nutrient values of nitrogen. The organic vegetable food products of this invention are also useful in combination with conventional chemical fertilizers. The powder, granular, pill or other forms of the organic vegetable food products of this invention can be mixed or combined with chemical fertilizers, preferably those with similar physical properties, which provide the most stable mixture in which the components do not settle or become contaminated. Separate during transportation, storage or use. An advantage of such mixtures or combinations of the organic plant food products of this invention and conventional chemical fertilizers is that the high organic matter content of the organic plant food products of this invention improves the ability of the soil to retain the chemical fertilizer from the leachate and make the chemical fertilizer more suitable or suitable for more time for plant uptake. The organic vegetable food products of this invention can be used with chemical fertilizers in any mixture or proportion and can be used in combination with more of a chemical fertilizer that was determined to be desirable or useful for a particular soil condition or crop use. The blends or combinations of the organic vegetable food products of this invention with chemical fertilizers can be in any weight ratio of less than about 1:10 to more than about 10: 1, or in the range of about 1: 5 to about 5. : 1, or any other proportion or any particular proportion that a person skilled in the art determines as appropriate or desirable following the present description depending on the soil, the crop, the balance of desired nutrients and the balance of the desired organic matter. The organic vegetable food products of this invention are preferred for use in certified organic farms, for the reasons indicated above, which makes these products especially suitable for use in conjunction with, in combination with or in admixture with other approved feeds for certified organic farms, such as bio-pesticides. In general, the biopesticides that are preferred for use with the organic plant food products of this invention are the granular or powdered products that are normally applied to the soil for the control of soil pest organisms or the growth control of undesirable vegetation. For example, corn gluten in flour or in granular form is applied to lawns to prevent the growth of dandelion, crabgrass and foxtail (alopecuro) and is available as the "WOW" product line of Gardens Alive in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. This product can be mixed or combined with. organic vegetable food products of this invention in granular form and the mixture can be applied to the turf by conventional spreading or by turfgrass sprinkler. Examples of other granular biopesticide products that can be combined or blended with organic vegetable food products include the product lines "Rootshield", "RootMate" and "TurbShield" from BioWorks, in Fairport, New York and the products "SoilGard from Certis USA in Columbia, Maryland Other biopesticide products can be used in conjunction with the organic plant food products of this invention, such as foliage spray products from AgraQuest Inc. in Davis, California in the "Serénate" and "Rapsode" product lines. Although these spray products would not be mixed with the organic plant food products of this invention, the use at the same time may provide benefits of healthier plants growing with more organic matter in the plant. soil that are more resistant to pests after the biopesticide has controlled the pest in question. A source of organic biopesticides is http: // www. epa gov / pesticides / biopesticides / ingredients / i ndex.htm where the US EPA regularly provides updated listings of biopesticides. Also, the organic vegetable food products of this invention may be in the form of a liquid slurry, in which case a biopesticide in liquid form may be mixed or combined with the organic vegetable food products of this invention for use by application to the soil. Although the organic vegetable food products of this invention are usually preferred for use in operations of certified organic farms, with or without a biopesticide, the organic vegetable food products of this invention are also useful in conventional non-certified organic farms, and in these applications they can to be used in combination with any conventional compatible chemical pesticide desired for a particular application. As indicated above, the chemical pesticide can be selected for any particular pest problem, or as needed a selected combination, and can be mixed or combined with the plant food products organic compounds of this invention either in granular form, or in liquid slurry for use by application to the soil. In both organic and non-organic applications of the mixtures or combinations of the amount of biopesticide or chemical pesticide used with the organic vegetable food products of this invention may be in any proportion by weight of less than about 1:10 to more than about 10. : 1, or in the range of from about 1: 5 to about 5: 1 or any other ratio or any particular ratio determined as appropriate or desirable by one skilled in the art following the present description depending on the soil, the crop, the balance of desired nutrients, the balance of organic matter desired and the pest or pests to be treated. This invention provides methods of producing crops using the organic plant food products or materials of this invention by means of the step of applying the organic plant food products or materials of this invention to the soil, planting the crop in that soil and harvesting the crop, or applying the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention to the soil where a crop is growing and harvesting the crop. The quantity of products or materials organic vegetable foodstuffs of this invention to be applied to the soil will be determined by an expert in the matter appropriate or desirable according to the present description depending on the soil, the crop, the desired balance of nutrients and the balance of organic matter desired in the particular soil . This invention further provides methods of producing flour or dairy products by means of the above method with the additional steps of feeding the crop harvested to cattle and producing meat products or dairy products from these cattle. As used herein the term "granule", "granular" and the like refer to any granular form of the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention, including granules, powders, conventional lumps and the like, produced by of conventional granulation processes and equipment, including crushing or shredding previously compacted or preformed tablets. The term "compacted", "compact" and the like refer to any compact form of the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention, including cylindrical, bullet, spherical or other forms, typically made by means of compaction processes and equipment. conventional, such as by extruding a slurry or paste and cutting, chopping or breaking the extrudate to the desired size. The terms "globule", "globular" and the like refer to any globular shape of the organic plant food products or materials of this invention made by conventional processes and globulization equipment, including spray tower process, freeze drying processes , etc. The output of solids from the drying vessel mentioned in the provisional applications mentioned hereinabove as the organic plant food material of this invention, said solids are typically further processed by grinding, granulation, compaction, bulking, or other processing to produce the products organic vegetable foods of this invention in the form desired for final packaging or for bulk distribution. Such equipment and operations of grinding, granulation, compaction or globulization are those that are conventional and well known. The organic vegetable food products and materials of this invention are useful for and include blends with other materials, products or chemicals, as may be desired for end uses. individuals that require particular properties or characteristics. Said materials and different additives can be added and mixed at any appropriate point in the process described in the provisional applications: mixed with the raw material for fertilizer, added to the drying container, added to the water process at any point, added to the material that leaves of the drying container, added as part of any grinding, granulating or compaction processing or simply mixed or combined before bagging or packing or at the point of use. For example, the organic plant food products or materials of this invention, although usually relatively odorless, can be combined with other materials that can provide either a pleasant odor or cover up any unpleasant odor. These materials can be synthetic (perfumes) 9 ° natural, preferring natural materials. Natural, organic materials can include sage, peppermint, fennel, garlic, rosemary, pine, citrus and similar materials that would not prevent qualification as an organic food when desired. Other materials for mixing may include iron, minerals, carbon, zeolite, vermiculite, perlite, chemical fertilizers (urea, ammonium nitrate, etc.), pesticides and other materials to adapt the organic vegetable food products or materials of this invention for specialized use. Although certified organic products are the most preferred products of this invention, the products of this invention may include any combination or mixture of conventional NPK fertilizers in any conventional form, including sustained release forms. For example, the organic vegetable food products of this invention may include added herbicides (for "feed and weed" products) and other additives that may be based on organic or chemical products that may or may not qualify for certified organic status. It is well known in the art to make fertilizer products in desired particle or granule size that have the desired hardness and integrity in the dry form, but easily distributable when applied to an agricultural operation and treated with water by irrigation or rainfall. For example, see U.S. Pat. 4,997,469 of Moore and 5,679,729 of Elrod et al., The disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

As described in the provisional applications, the depleted gases of the gas turbine are brought into contact with the organic raw material, where at least some of the N0X and S0X and C0X gases are absorbed in or complexed with the organic raw material to be dried and / or converted to an organic vegetable food material, and preferably to a self-binding organic vegetable or food product. Although several embodiments of this invention were illustrated and described, this was by way of illustration only and various changes and modifications contemplated in this invention and in the scope of the following claims can be made.

Claims (18)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as novelty, and therefore the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. - An organic vegetable food or material formed from organic raw material and characterized by high content of organic matter of more than about 60% by weight and moisture content of less than about 20% by weight.

2. - An organic vegetable food or food material according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an organic matter content of more than about 70% by weight and a moisture content of less than about 15% by weight.

3. - An organic vegetable food or material according to claim 1, characterized in that the product or material comprises self-binding properties.

4. A product or organic vegetable food material according to claim 1, characterized in that the raw material comprises undigested raw material.

5. - A product or organic vegetable food material characterized in that it is formed from an organic raw material and has a weight ratio of organic matter to moisture of at least about 1.5: 1.

6. - An organic vegetable food or food material according to claim 5, characterized in that the weight ratio is at least about 8: 1.

7. - A method for producing organic vegetable food products characterized in that it comprises high content of organic matter and low in water which comprises drying an organic raw material or an undigested raw material.

8. - A method in accordance with the claim 7, characterized in that it comprises thermally converting its components to provide self-binding properties in organic vegetable food products.

9. A combination product characterized in that it comprises an organic vegetable food product with a high content of organic matter, low in humidity, in combination or mixture with one or more conventional chemical fertilizers.

10. - A combination product characterized in that it comprises an organic vegetable food product of low humidity and high organic matter, in combination with one or more bio-pesticides.

11. - A combination product characterized in that it comprises an organic vegetable food product of low humidity and high organic matter, in combination with one or more conventional pesticides.

12. - An article or body characterized in that it is formed from products or materials that comprise organic vegetable food.

13. - An article or body according to claim 12, characterized in that the organic vegetable food is self-agglutinating and capable of forming the article or body without added binders.

14. - An article or body according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises a chemical fertilizer, a pesticide, a bio-pesticide, a zeolite or vermiculite.

15. A method of producing a crop characterized in that it comprises applying an organic vegetable food that has a high content of organic matter and low in moisture to the soil, plant the crop in the soil and harvest the crop.

16. - A method of producing a crop characterized in that it comprises applying an organic vegetable food having high organic raw material and low humidity to the soil containing a growing crop and harvesting the crop.

17. - A method of producing a meat product or a dairy product characterized in that it comprises feeding the crop harvested in accordance with the claim 15 or claim 16 to cattle and produce the meat or dairy product from that cattle.

18. - A method of forming a product in combination characterized in that it comprises mixing an organic vegetable food having high organic matter and low humidity with a chemical fertilizer, a pesticide, a bio-pesticide, a zeolite or a vermiculite.