Re: Heavy Metals in Garden Soil

Yes, please; the only sure way to make lead safe is to cart it away.
---McG
----- Original Message ----- From: "Deborah Mills" <deborah@greencure.org>
To: <adam36055@aol.com>; <community_garden@mallorn.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 7:57 PM
Subject: Re: [cg] Heavy Metals in Garden Soil


I totally agree with Karen Jones and Adam's words.

Deborah
----- Original Message -----
From: <adam36055@aol.com>
To: <community_garden@mallorn.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: [cg] Heavy Metals in Garden Soil



Again, friends, lead is bad news, and unless you have really careful

gardeners who really, really REALLY watch their kids, you have a dangerous
situation to deal with. I mean how can you tell a kid not to take a
sunflower home to Mommy,  even though it's filled with and has to be
disposed as toxic waste because of the lead it has soaked up?  Do you have
to paint a "Death's Head," on its face?

I love this list, and the ingenuitiy of many of the gardeners, but when it
comes to kids and a really nasty environmental poison, caution and the most
prudent practices have to be followed. Karen Jones is really right about
lead - please listen to her.

Everbest,
Adam Honigman
Volunteer
Clinton Community Garden



-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Jones <k.jones@uwinnipeg.ca>
To: community_garden@mallorn.com
Sent: Tue, 10 May 2005 12:42:29 -0500
Subject: [cg] Heavy Metals in Garden Soil


We got our urban garden tested for heavy metals last year and found lead
119 ppm, the standards we used werethose of  the government of Quebec,
which has the strictest standards in Canada.They consider land to be
toxic at 130 ppm.  Lead will accumulate in leaves (not petioles) and
roots. If you peel carrots they are safe to eat because the lead
accumulates near the epidermis. Rhubarb is safe to eat. Lettuces,
Spinach, Cabage etc. is not safe to eat. All fruits are safe to eat,
because plants somehow do not let heavy metals into the seeds. Canola
and Sunflowers are good for remediation, but they then must be treated
as toxic waste. Compost should not be used in gardens with hight amounts
of lead,  compost increases the pH and lead is absorbed more by plants
under conditions of low  pH. Children under two should not be permitted
into these gardens at all, apparently 25% of young children eat soil
(pica) and children  accumulate heavy metals at faster rates than
adults. You may accumulate lead all your life and then when some
tramautic physical event occurs the lead will leach out of your bones
and you begin to lose your way in life. Please remember that no levels
of lead are safe. You have to have a really educated group of gardeners
to be able to garden safely where heavy metals are concerned. Raised
beds, are they sustainable? I don't think so. The David Suzuki
Foundation helped us to interpret the results.   Karen


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The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of
ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to
find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org

To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
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______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org


To post an e-mail to the list: community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden

______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org


To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:  https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
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