How to Clean Heavy Metals From a Yard
- 1). Dig up any existing vegetation, if there is any. Till the soil with a rake to loosen it and allow it to dry out as much as possible. Well-drained soil will cause the metals to oxidize and they won't dissolve in the soil. Cover the ground in plastic or tarps during rainy days.
- 2). Prepare the soil in the autumn before the planting season. Mix in compost and fulvic acid fertilizer, which is known to remove toxins, pesticides and metals from soil. Obtain and administer a soil test kit from your local extension office or garden store. Make any amendments that are indicated as necessary by the test.
- 3). Plant a lush garden of hyperaccumulator plants throughout the yard at the beginning of the growing season. Types of hyperaccumulator plants include sweet corn, bladder campion, willow, rapeseed, alpine pennycross, Indian mustard, yellow tuft and sunflower. If you live next to a pond, lake or stream, wetland hyperaccumulator plants such as cattail and water hyacinth also can be planted.
- 4). Dig up the plants when they reach full bloom and place them in sealed plastic bags. Contact your state's department of agriculture or local extension office regarding disposal.
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