LOL... I think they are a nuisance. I'll give 'em this. They are really nice when in bloom.
I'm not real picky about people knowing my location. I live in the St. Louis area.
I really agree with this. During a heated debate sometimes I have to take pause and seriously listen to what the other people around me are saying. I tend to be stubborn and sometimes need to be called to task now and then. My SO has always said I'm a handful.
It's the same in ever ng I post in. So far I don't think I've seen any zealots here. There were 3 of you that really went after the Roundup issue and I'm going to research it more. In the meantime I'll dig up all the violets and send 'em to Fragile Warrior ;)
The industry AND its opponents would laugh at it, and they'd be right to do so. Both sides have also said that it was invalid to test chemicals on animals. You have to have followed this back to the early 1970s to see the entirety of the testing farce.
You can't research these products. There is no data. In order to test things like this, you need hundreds or thousands of people to volunteer to be dosed with chemicals. Now, think hard. If Monsanto or Dow somehow came up with that many volunteers, what kinds of people do you think they might be, and how would that affect the research?
A reference that one of you (Bill, I think) gave yesterday said, "Glyphosate is acutely toxic to humans. Ingesting about 3/4 of a cup can be lethal."
Were they just pulling numbers out of their ass? (actually, I think they were, but I'm not the one who posted it)
That's why I like old fashion chemicals that have been around for 40 years rather than the brand new exotic pesticides that Bayer makes. There's enough anecdotal data to actually mean something. ;-)
I try to do as much organically as I can. I've only been gardening for about 7 years now. Most of my adult life has been spent in a condo, 300 feet in the air with a terrace. Sure, I always had pot gardens on the terrace and didn't think twice about using chemicals on the plants. Growing up, my parents hired people to do the lawn and gardens and I have no clue what they used. I'm sure chemicals were involved. Us kids were the pool slaves. Talk about chemicals ;( I suppose I pretty much grew up using them. I always had green hair every summer.
When I finally moved out here (sort of against my will, mind you) I wanted organic gardening and fewer chemicals. I don't use chemicals on my lawn, in the flower beds or in the soil. I don't want to upset the eco system and I sure as hell don't want to hurt my dogs and cats. Or any other animals for that matter. I feed the birds and sometimes take pity on the squirrels and 'coons and give them a bite. The insects are important also, especially the bees. I use home made concoctions to get rid of mites etc. that I've learned from my neighbors. Most involve ordinary household stuff. Not sure about the chemical makeup but most of the concoctions have water and some have dish soap, vinegar etc. IOW, I never gave a whole lot of thought about chemicals causing harm to people other than myself. Gives me a a lot to think about. I love gardening, absolutely love it, but want to do it responsibly and with knowledge. You couldn't pry me out of this house now. I'll never go back to the concrete jungle.
I have and I have been battling in this newsgroup for over 13 years. I've mellowed, to say the least. Now I garden how I garden and I leave others to garden the way they want to garden. I can't change that no matter how much evidence I come up with. Laziness will still always overtake the hand at task.
Try blending onions & garlic with water (1 gallon water, 4 onions, and all the cloves from a head of garlic). Put it in a bottle, stick it in the garage, and forget about it for a year. Not only will it repel any bug including Japanese beetles, it will cause car to swerve away from your property. Nasty stuff. Perfect!
"JoeSpareBedroom" was forced to post this in: rec.gardens
I think it's the uncertainty that makes me skittish. I think I'm going to have to really dig into this topic and try to form some kind of informed opinion on it, and put it to use. The neighbors down the way just put a dry creek bed in on the side of their house. Looks really nice too. Their lawn and gardens always look really nice too. It looks way too tailored and manicured for my tastes but that's okay. I was down there last night looking at the creek bed and noticed the garage was full of chemical gardening stuff. Scott's lawn fertilizer, Real Kill (which I assume is about the same as Roundup, etc. They put the creek bed in because the water that rushes down the side of the house just sits next to the house. The creek bed will drain the rainfall into the street. Because of this thread I have to wonder what happens to all the chemical stuff after it rains.
Call your water authority and ask them exactly what happens to water that runs into the street into the storm drains. Ask them if it's treated (probably not). Ask them exactly where your drinking water comes from, and if the source could possibly be affected by what lands in the storm drains (like your neighbor's chemicals, oil leaks from cars, etc).
"JoeSpareBedroom" was forced to post this in: rec.gardens
Well I can do that. You *know* I've always got onion and garlic laying around. I've also got a bunch of those gallon sized spray bottles around with home made stuff which is all labeled. I'll give it a try.
It might work when it's fresh, but I'm *sure* it works after getting really disgusting for a year. Be sure to filter it, obviously. First through a regular kitchen strainer, then through coffee filters, which can take forever.
FragileWarrior >>>for about 7 years now. Most of my adult life has been spent in a
I was told at a cocktail party I was throwing that there was no pollination as beez do not go that high. I attributed it to the alcohol talking at the time.
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