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a couple of letters from Grist magazine i thought might be appropriate

:)

fraggle

 

 

Dearest Umbra, Goddess of Green Knowledge,

 

A few years ago, a farmer friend of mine argued that more pesticides and

chemical fertilizers are applied to suburban lawns and gardens than are used in

commercial agriculture. I can see how this might be the case, given the massive

size of the lawn and garden chemical industry, but I haven't been able to verify

this information. Can you help?

 

Ed Hunt

 

Dearest Ed, Supplicant,

 

The lawn and garden industry is massive, indeed. In 1997, U.S. households used

76 million pounds of pesticides. Of course, some of these toxic chemicals may

have been for fleas or cockroaches, not for lawn pests, Still, 76 million is a

very large number -- that is, until you stick it next to 944 million, which is

the number of pounds of pesticides used on U.S. farms. Then it looks kinda

small.

 

 

To make a lawn story short.

 

But we can look at it another way: Three-quarters of U.S. households are using

pesticides. Just over half of our country's farms are using them. We non-farmers

should be ashamed of ourselves. Pesticides (this includes herbicides) can be

nerve toxins and hormone disrupters, and they persist in our waterways for

longer than you care to think about. They are especially dangerous to children

and Chihuahuas, kill small but important bugs, harm fish, and sicken the people

manufacturing and applying them. To top it off, they are difficult to dispose of

-- and unnecessary for use on suburban lawns.

 

Farmers can make some excellent arguments for the use of pesticides, and our

agriculture system has a long way to go in order to become less toxic for the

farmers as well as the consumers. But the agricultural system is slowly

transforming (most of the new active ingredients registered for use with the

government in 1997 were less toxic than those used in earlier years), and in the

meantime, you can buy organic and keep the long view.

 

Non-farmers, who are not valiantly fighting to keep the source of their

livlihoods from going under, have absolutely no excuse for using toxic chemicals

on their lawns and gardens. Tell everyone you know to read the U.S. EPA report

from whence the numbers in this answer came. Maybe then they'll stop saying,

" Ooo, them dumb farmers, it's all those stupid hicks poisoning our pristine

aquifers. " Further, tell them to run home, throw all the slug bait, roach

killer, Roundup, and 2 4-D into a bag, and head to the hazardous waste disposal

site to expiate their guilt.

 

I hope this is helpful, Ed. See the letter below for additional resources.

 

Godly,

Umbra

 

 

Dear Umbra,

 

We moved into a suburban neighborhood in Ft. Collins, Colo., last year and I

began my usual organic gardening practices. I created a beautiful flower garden

in our front yard, but I still receive complaints from my neighbors because I

refuse to apply herbicides to kill the dandelions and other weeds in the lawn.

At least they are all green and neatly mowed! My scientific explanations about

the dangers of herbicides and pesticides and the benefits of lawn biodiversity

do not placate my picky neighbors. And they haven't even seen my milkweed

butterfly garden yet. Can there really be a product that is completely

environmentally safe that would stop weeds from growing in the lawn?

 

Thank you,

Courtney Farrell

 

Dearest Courtney,

 

The real question here is, " Why has grass become a social obligation? " It seems

that your most useful gardening tool is going to be persuasive speaking.

 

 

Dandelion whine.

 

I have several community-relations ideas for you. One would be to find several

articles about the dangers of pesticides (complete with pictures of sickly farm

workers and deformed frogs), laminate them, tape them on stakes, and stick them

around your yard. Another idea: Make tiny yard banners similar to the ones lawn

companies use, but sporting slogans like, " This lawn will not cause cancer, " or,

" Lawn care by TLC not toxics, " or maybe, " Mind your own business. "

Alternatively, if you're the diplomatic type, you could teach a little class at

the local community center on healthy, natural lawns. A good offense is the best

defense.

 

For the benefit of our studio audience, let's go over the basics of natural lawn

care. A weed is simply a plant that is not desired, and each person has his or

her own personal feelings about weeds and pests. Helping any plant thrive is a

matter of cultivating healthy soil, encouraging natural organisms in the

ecosystem, working with the natural cycles of pests and plants, and choosing the

right plant for the right place. All plants, including grass, have places where

they thrive naturally -- but lawns made purely of mowable grass are unnatural in

most of the U.S. Plants growing in compacted soil (common on housing sites) and

in unnatural conditions are unhealthy, and unhealthy plants are the first to be

attacked by pests and weeds. The best prevention is natural lawn care: soil

improvement, thatch removal, overseeding with locally appropriate grass, and

appropriate watering. (In this case, in other words, a good defense is the best

offense.) Detailed information about natural lawn care, along with articulate

arguments against pesticides and much more, is readily available through the

Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides.

 

If you're still tearing at your hair and yelling at your monitor ( " Okay,

Umbrinski, but what the hell do I do about the weeds? " ), then let me suggest

that you revert to the technique used in the famous gardens of Versailles, the

Summer Palace, and Monticello. What do you do with weeds? You weed! Stop those

spawning plants in their tracks the old-fashioned way, with or without one of

many new-fangled tools: a standing dandelion puller, say, or a flame-weeder.

(This last really does exist, but it may not be a sensitive choice in Colorado

this summer. On the other hand, if you were wielding a flame-weeder, I'm sure

your neighbors would give you a wide berth.)

 

The substances you can use to combat weeds range from regular old white vinegar

to everyone's new favorite pre-emergent broadleaf herbicide, corn gluten. The

corn gluten will come the closest to mimicking the crap your neighbors are

paying for (you will take it out of the box, chuck it on the lawn, and go inside

to watch TV), but it should be your tactic of last resort. Why? Because it is

not necessarily Completely Environmentally Safe. Though vinegar and corn are

both naturally occurring, the only response that will not disturb anything but

weeds is ... weeding. I'm sorry.

 

For other information on toxins, I heartily recommend the publications put out

by the Washington Toxics Coalition, which rates home products on environmental

and health safety. The booklets are filled with easy-to-read charts, which you

can use not only to choose your own lawn products, but to begin discussions with

your neighbors about theirs. It's always helpful to have something

official-looking in hand. And if you change their minds -- well, that's the best

weed prevention of all.

 

Hoe on,

Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Please send Umbra any

nagging question pertaining to the environment.

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