Re: herbicides

From: Bill Shear <BILLS@hsc.edu>

Glenn--

If you get a chance to read my new book you'll see that I am not a "purist"
on anything, but a devotee of IPM.  I believe in using the least
environmentally harmful methods FIRST, and what I was reading into the
messages we were seeing was to grab for the chemicals at the first sign of
trouble.  I do think there is something wrong with applying herbicides to
one's garden every three weeks.  I do think there is something wrong with
drenching everything with Cygon several times a year whether I see a borer
or not.

Hand weeding is something almost anyone, no matter how handicapped, can do.
Even just a little each day or each week, well-planned, can keep you ahead
of the weeds.  You may not get that manicured look, but you will not be
swamped with unwanted vegetation, either.

I'm deeply concerned about the amounts of pesticides, herbicides included,
that we are using in our home gardens.  Please remember that these are our
personal environments, and what we use there we will be exposed to
repeatedly and over a long period of time.  I might get a little shot of
some insecticide from eating an unwashed apple, but how much more might I
get if I go out and lounge around on my "Chemlawn" for an hour?  I don't
think that the overuse of pesticides, herbicides included, is really a
"lifestyle" question.  It's about doing our part to preserve something of
this tired old planet for our grandchildren (if we are lucky enough to have
any, with all the estrogen-mimics derived from herbicides floating around
out there).

Now, as for tumbleweeds, I'm very familiar with them from my time in New
Mexico.  Pulled green before they bloom they make great compost and do not
shed seeds.  A good mature tumbleweed (Russian thistle) can be 2-3 ft. in
diameter before it is ready to shed seeds.  If you let them get to this
size, you have more problems than just weeds!  Spontaneous combustion in a
compost pile?  Somehow I doubt it.  The ignition temperature for most forms
of organic matter is on the order of 350-400 degrees.  While such
temperatures may be reached in silage or a landfill under very rare
conditions, it's pretty hard to believe that a few cubic feet of compost
could generate that kind of heat.

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@hsc.edu>

What was the best thing BEFORE sliced bread?
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