Organic Fertilizer

Tree Planting

Tree planting is one of the cheapest, most effective ways to draw carbon out of the air. The University of Mississippi Landscape Services Department estimates that over 30,000 trees have been planted on campus, including 4,500 in the campus's interior. Each adult tree is capable of storing about 13 lbs of carbon per year. Each year on the University of Mississippi campus, about 390,000 lbs of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere!

Leaf Mulching

While leaves do not contain a large amount of nitrogen, they do contain large amounts of calcium and magnesium that are essential to plant growth. Each fall, thousands of pounds of leaves are mulched and redistributed into plant beds across the university. Landscape Services is committed to reusing organic materials in a way that is beneficial to both the campus greenery and the environment.

Milorganite®

Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen (Milorganite®) is an 85 year old company dedicated not only to organic fertilization, but to preventing human sewage from entering waterways. This product contains organic fertilization materials derived from activated sewage sludge. A mixture of biosolids, dried microbes, iron, and iron sulfate slowly fertilizes soil without using chemicals that are unsafe for the environment. A 2005 study of Milorganite® by graduate students and the University of Georgia, Athens, also deemed the product useful as a deer deterrent; the product uses instinctive fear (olfactory predator detection) to deter deer from an area for up to 37 days.

Scotts Organic® Turf Fertilizer

Scotts Organic® is used to fertilize turf on the university campus. It is made from the blood and bone material of dead animals. Instead of sending a burst of nitrogen into the soil all at once—creating the need for additional mowing and upkeep—it slowly releases the nitrogen into the soil, allowing the turf to grow at a more normal rate. It is safe for children and pets to play on immediately after use and improves the soil's ability to absorb water and nutrients.