methyl bromide and competition

Karin, I'd known about the methyl bromide sterilization for strawberries, but
hadn't heard of it being used for iris fields. Brrr!  But I guess I had assumed
that big commercial growers of iris routinely used fungicides and systemics
anyway. Or maybe the rot and borer problems are so different on the west coast,
where several of them are, that they don't need to?  Preventing major crop loss
is one thing; using such a drastic chemical solely to get increase doesn't sit
as well.

 >> I am an organic gardener. I quit the Dahlia society because I couldn't
 >> grow perfect dahlias without insecticide to kill the earwigs that put
 >> holes in the flowers. This relates to the other thread about AIS
 >> sanctioned shows and the competitive spirit of perfection. What are
 >> the feelings of the other folks here.

I'm another organic gardener. If I find it impossible to grow a plant well
without chemicals, then out it goes. There are too many other beautiful things
out there competing for space in my garden to get involved with that.
Similarly, if a variety has magnificent blooms but ratty foliage or floppy
stems, then I look for cultivars with a similar effect but more overall garden
strength. It's quite difficult for me to believe that out of the tens of
thousands of tall bearded iris available, I won't be able to find fifty or so
that please me immensely and provide the desired color effects without
requiring spraying or staking.

This approach is possible because I'm a general gardener growing for my own
pleasure; my interest is in making a beautiful place to be, not a display
garden.  Nor am I a specialist, collector, hybridizer, show competitor, cut
flower producer, or commercial source, though these are all fine things to be.
It's ironic: joining a plant society is often the fastest way to get access to
the catalogs, gardens, and information that enable one to learn which colors
and forms appeal most, and which varieties 'do' best in one's area. But it's
also the fastest road to specialist hell: once you get swept up in a genus and
adopt its society's standards for what is 'best', it's too easy to lose
perspective.

Almost all plant societies have this pattern: the newest, and the big prize
winners (rarely the same thing as the ones with the best garden qualities) are
the cultivars that count, and they're constantly being 'superseded' by the next
year's introductions. That's what is exciting to me about the Historic Iris
Preservation Society: *ALL the old cultivars have been 'superseded' and
'surpassed', so the pressure is off. It's easy to get a frank evaluation of
different cultivars' garden qualities: everyone's had enough time to see how
they do under a wide range of conditions, and because most of the hybridizers
are no longer around there's less fear of giving offense with honest criticism.

Hmmmm. Seem to have wandered off the bromide-laced fields and up onto a big
soapbox; must look for the way down........

 Nell Lancaster, Lexington, VA   75500.2521@compuserve.com    USDA zone 6b
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index