This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Compost!

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

On Sat, 11 Sep 1999 21:40:36 -0700, "Kevin Henson"
<kevinh@thesocket.com> , late of Pablo Fanques Fair wrote:

>I just dug up my first "square".  Following Mel's advice I started small.  I
>have a 2' by 8' plot.  I dug it right in an area of my backyard, because
>that is the only I have full sun.  I added a ton of amendments, and worked
>the ground really good, so I was convinced I had a nice medium to work with.
>I partitioned it off with a border about 5" high so it is a bit of a raised
>bed, but I am working with original dirt that was under the lawn.  I just
>dug out the lawn, and I had some really nice stuff to work with to begin
>with.
>
>Ok, here is my problem.  I have had a dog for 7 years.  She is a Shar Pei,
>and is allergic to fleas, so she has been on flea medication forever.  We
>give her a bath every two days, (because of her sensitive skin) and she
>lives indoors, except to go out and do her business, which she hates, she
>thinks she should have a place indoors.
>
>My question, is this dirt I have just planted my winter crop in, infected
>with all of that bad stuff you all were talking about?
>
>Do you all start with sterile soil?   Is it safe to eat these vegetables,
>assuming I can get any to grow?

Well, I will give you my personal opinion, noting that I am not a
scientist in this area.

We have four dogs on a small suburban fenced plot. One of the
reasons why we try to be organic is that our dogs lie in, play in,
and occasionally eat, the vegetation and grass in the yard. When
necessary, they also receive flea medication, and we believe that
one of ours also has the flea allergy.

It seems to me that if you are sharing a house with this dog, and
petting this dog, you already as exposed as anyone can be to the
flea medication. I don't see how eating vegetables grown from ground
that this dog may have lain on is going to add measurably to your
risk. 

As for whether this makes your garden "not organic", I would counsel
moderation. Many flea medications contain Pyrethrins and Rotenone,
which are generally considered organic anyway. And the evidence I
have seen indicates that an environment that is receiving good
organic care is quite capable of breaking down safely small amounts
of chemicals anyway. 


-- 
Kevin B. O'Brien                  TANSTAAFL
kob1@ix.netcom.com
"I fired MacArthur because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire
him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was." -- Harry S. Truman

Help fight SPAM. Join CAUCE. http://www.cauce.org/


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
MSN Messenger Service lets you stay in touch instantly with
your family & friends - Visit http://messenger.msn.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index