Posted on 06/24/2008 8:04:35 AM PDT by BGHater
Farmyard manure contaminated with residues of weedkiller is stunting the growth of vegetables in gardens all over the country, the Royal Horticultural Society has said.
Cases of manure contaminated by herbicides used on grassland to control weeds appear to be a new phenomenon, according to the Society, with more instances reported this year than ever before.
The most common crops affected are tomatoes, peas, beans, potatoes and lettuces, though ornamental plants such as delphinium, phlox and roses may be susceptible.
Gardeners have complained to the Pesticides Safety Directorate which says that the manure they have been buying is likely to have been contaminated inadvertently with a selective, hormone based herbicide called aminopyralid, found in products made by Dow AgroSciences and used on grassland to control weeds.
Symptoms of damage include distorted foliage, with cupping of leaves and fern-like growth. There are no remedies once damage has occurred and there is no assurance that affected produce will be safe to consume, according to the RHS.
However, this weed killer can be grazed by livestock soon after application so there is no reason to believe that children, pets, gardeners or wildlife are at risk.
Guy Barter, head of horticultural advisory services at the RHS said: "Until recently weed killer damage was fairly unusual and usually due to inadvertent mistakes in applying lawn weed killers and using contaminated watering cans and sprayers.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Garden Ping
Bad things can happen if you don’t know your -—stuff.
Sounds like some bad s#!7!............
Thanks for this ping. Fortunately for me, due to the drought in Georgia, my garden areas are so small now and I make my own compost, so am able to control the ingredients in my fertilizer. This also includes the tomato salmonella problem.
BTW, I've made about 6-8 vegetable baskets (actually bags) from my garden to pass out to my friends and neighbors today. I'm being over-run.
The Natural Gardener show on Saturday morning had something about using this in gardens. He also talked about using “dillo dirt” [which is treated sewage sediments] on yards. Dillow dirt can have prescription drugs or illegal drugs that pass through your body, and can be absorbed into your skin or your pets as well.
Due to excessive rains, my gardens are getting a late start, but yesterday Virginia tomatoes were declared “safe” from the salmonella problems. Which is good news as the first/early harvest is now starting in parts of VA.
Another good argument for composting your own fertilizer. You control what goes into it and how long it brews.
Interesting.
excessive rains? Now you know how to hurt a gal, don’t you?
You’ve got that right.
We are using the runoff from our air conditioners to water our garden. We catch it in containers and any extra goes in gallon milk jugs so mosquitoes can't lay eggs in the open water.
Sorry, didn’t mean to add insult to injury.
I was sitting out on the deck the other day starting seeds, surrounded by a dozen or so seed trays in various stages of germination and growth when the wind picked up and it started raining. I got hubby and daughter to give me a hand hauling them all back in the house.......it really irked me because by the time we got the last one in, the rain up and quit.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
milk jugs hinder mosquitos? I’ll make a note of this.
I always thought the freon (or whatever) in air conditioner run-off killed plants.
oh, keep it up, Gabz! :`)
I’m scooping water out of my showers, sinks, and tubs with buckets to water my gardens.
We’re allowed to “hand-water” 25 minutes on Sunday, between 6am and 10am.
I am bracing myself to lose quite a few shrubs this summer.
Whre are you?
BTW, the removal of humidity in the air was the original intent of Mr. Carrier, who is credited with inventing air-conditioning. He wasn't trying to create a cooling system, just a humidity removal system..... Talk about serendipity.
It is only water that is pulled from the living areas as humidity; no refrigerant gas contaminates it.
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