|
Dear List: I, for one, have spoken against peat moss for
decades as a useless material except for artificial soil mixes (and then if
using plastic pots, you have to weigh them down). I don't know about using peat
moss in the rest of the country but it's useless in the Southeast as a mulch,
soil additive, and whatever the manufacturers can think of. It has no
nutritional value and when dry it reacts like water drops on a hot griddle: They
bounce and ping! That is also what happens in the garden. To me it's a mute
point whether we are talking about the destruction of European peat beds or
Canadian peat beds: These products are on a level with Coca-cola, that is
unnecessary for survival, unnecessary for a better way of life, and unnecessary
in the garden. When I was a member of the GWAA (and this particular battle is
one of the reasons that I resigned), I never took a thing, not even a tote bag,
from manufacturers who were doing more harm than good to gardens. So I lost. So
what. Nature actually takes a few years to get even, but she will.
Peter
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2003 3:28
PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] Friendly worms or
killer worms???
Dear Doreen,
Thanks for forwarding this...I am totally with you about GWA..years ago
suggested the way to get a voice for garden writers was for the president to
take official positions on stuff...no luck for obvious reasons.
We can't expect industry to give us free drinks and dinners and trips if
we attack them.
One of the things that bugs me now and then is that the crappiest writers
about gardening are the ones commerce picks up and makes famous and thus
spokesperson for the group while knowledgeable people are often
ignored..
Could we get a movement going within GWA to advocate sustainable
gardening practices....which would present a positive platform to air negative
truths. Who would be part of it? Who would have the nerve to head it?
Jeff Ball once had a connection to Rodale.
and, what is a rain garden?
Jacqui
----- Original Message -----
From:
Doreen Howard
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2003
12:50 PM
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden
Writers Forum
Subject: Re: [GWL] Friendly worms or
killer worms???
Jeff Ball wrote:
In any case, we were musing
>
about how it seemed that garden writers tended not to want to get
into
> controversial topics; just an opinion of course. By
controversial topics
we
> meant genetic engineering of plants,
spreading of invasive species by
> nurseries, phosphorous seepage into
lakes and streams from lawn fertlizer,
> evironmental impact of lawn
care company's lawn care progrms, etc.
You make excellent points,
Jeff. Part of the problem is that many
publishers and in turn
managing editors will edit out controversial things
like lawn fertilizer
polluting groundwater, because their bias is towards
the advertisers who
will be offended. Once a writer gets their hand
slapped, they tend
not to do it again.....if they want paying work. I've
been there
and done that.
The following is not meant to be
self-aggrandizing. I write for
publications that pay big bucks, and
I write crap. To save my soul and keep
my ethical center intact, I
also write for publications that let me tell the
truth and tell it
often. They don't pay very well, and I still write the
crap to pay
the bills. Call me a sell-out, if you like, but I'm
a
pragmatist.
Mother Earth News in the last 24 months has beefed
up their gardening
content and increased their circulation. I write
the truth there--about
worms eating your humus, about selling the tiller
and planting cover crops,
about rain gardens to prevent toxins leaching
into the water table, etc. We
get out the message. In fact, I
have an article featuring Mary Applehof and
her worm expertise on the
calendar for 2004. Pick up the latest issue and
find an article I
did on how 5-star restaurants and supporting and helping
organic growers
to prosper. If gourmet chefs and their customers who pay
$150 for a
meal are aware of the impact many gardening practices have on
the
environment, I think we as garden writers can find an audience that
will
care.
My point is, as writers, if one publication won't let
you tell the truth,
look for others. Eventually, we will create a
body of garden knowledge that
is true and environmentally
sustainable. End of my rant for the day.
Doreen
Howard
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters
mailing
list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
GWL
has searchable archives
at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
Send photos for GWL to
gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
Post gardening questions/threads
to
"Organic-Gardening"
<organic-gardening@lists.ibiblio.org>
For GWL website and Wiki,
go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters
mailing
list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
GWL
has searchable archives
at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
Send photos for GWL to
gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
Post gardening questions/threads
to
"Organic-Gardening"
<organic-gardening@lists.ibiblio.org>
For GWL website and Wiki,
go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
|
