Although many Milwaukeeans enjoy lawns at which suburbanites would scoff, we still have the opportunity for cultivating some fine spring foliage. Flowers, herbs and vegetable plants easily thrive, initially in an indoor setting, and develop beautifully in a controlled environment.

One local export may be helpful in these efforts. Milorganite, manufactured by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), has become another of Milwaukee's success stories.

Milorganite, which got its name via a contest in National Fertilizer Magazine, comes from the words MILwaukee's ORGanic NITrogEn. But its origins are a bit more convoluted. Regardless, it has become a nationally known and widely imitated fertilizer sold in home improvement stores across the country for 75 years.

Exactly what is Milorganite? Like Summerfest, Harley-Davidson and Miller, it's part of Milwaukee's heritage and future.

We should set the record straight, though, once and for all: Milorganite does not -- and never has -- contained actual sewage; rather its contents are the byproducts of microorganisms that dig the gooey stuff.

Milorganite, manufactured in a plant on Jones Island, is part of a process that began in 1913 when Milwaukee city officials realized that dumping our sewage into Lake Michigan was no longer copacetic.

Developing a process to turn Milwaukee's sewage into an effective, all-natural fertilizer became the mission of the Milwaukee Sewage Commission, the predecessor to the MMSD. Process development was followed with smart marketing and public relations, and the end result was a well-known, nationally -marketed, gentle fertilizer.

While the organic fertilizer has its roots in Milwaukee's sewage, the final product is quite the contrary. Through an all-natural microbial process, Milorganite is manufactured from the dried remains of microbes that have digested the waste and purified the water.

As time passed and environmental responsibility has become more and more necessary, Milorganite's future remains bright. According to MMSD officials, 55,000 tons will be produced this year and spread on golf courses, flower beds, vegetable gardens and indoor gardens.

Visit the Milorganite Web site.