Re: poison

To Rick Tasco/Roger Duncan,

Sorry Rick about using your name and the word poison in the same paragraph
together.  I know better than to use the word "poison" instead of
"chemiccal"..  I will not do it again.
But I am grateful for your help and your insight to newcomers on the Iris-L
list.


Now to the rest of the L-list.  I have received some  support of ME,  NOT
NECESSARILY MY POSITION.   And I want to thank every one of you that gave me
support.

Let me say     THERE ARE SOME VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND VERY HELPFUL PEOPLE ON
THE IRIS -L LIST AND ALL OF US NEWCOMERS ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ALL YOUR HELP.
THERE ARE MANY THAT I HAVE ONLY READ YOUR MESSAGES AND NEVER DIRECTLY
RESPONDED TO YOU, ONLY TAKEN THE INFORMATION GIVEN AND STORED THAT KNOWLEDGE
IN MY MEMORY AND IN MY COMPUTER FILES.

If I have left anyone out let me know because I will tell you right now, it is
not intentional.
Memory fails more than it use to unfortunately.  And if I haven't said your
name, just know that I am indeed grateful to you for  all of  your help.

AS I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS LETTER.  I WAS  AND AM A ORGANIC GARDENER.  I AM NOT
GIVING IT UP COMPLETELY.  I WAS ORGANIC 15 YEARS AGO AND AM STILL ORGANIC.
But I can see that sometimes things need help.  I said what I said so that the
Iris L will have their horizons broadened to see that maybe people that have
to use chemicals have to use it for a wide variety of reasons.  If there is a
person that has a disability or has an extra large garden, there are reasons
for things being done.  Some of you don't seem to understand or want to
understand about how things like plants, or pets, or music, or art, or
genelogy, or the computer can add purpose to someone's life and I really feel
sorry for you, because you will never know until it happens to you how you
will feel if your life changes dramatically.   Pain is a great killer of
almost all pleasure.  I, as a child, didn't understand this.  I lived with
such an example but I was young and I didn't understand.   I have now lived
with a man that except for the first two years of our married life has lived
with pain that I, even to this day, can only imagine.   All of us are getting
older and along with the majic number of 40 comes a realization that we are
now getting aches and pain.  Try your whole grown-up life with pain.  Let's
see what it makes of you.   For you all to say that if someone can't do the
garden organic, then that person needs to stop.  I was going to tell you that
I would have said that too several years ago but that would be a lie.  I had a
DAD that taught me different than that.  My DAD taught me to respect the
person no matter how they were disabled.  I even hate the word disabled.  It
has bad conotations for everyone, especially the phyically  or mentally
challenged.   Our iris club here in town has mainly physically challenged
people as members in it either due to age or physical injury.  Let's see some
of you stand up and tell these people they shouldn't be there because they
can't do things the way you think things should be done.  They are some of the
stoutest supporters of the club.  Without them, this club would shrivel up and
die.  They are the first to stretch out their hands in friendship to new
people.  The Iris are giving these people a means to become independent again
like they use to be because several are either selling or trying to get to the
position to have enough to sell.  My DAD would be proud of these people
because he knows the road to being financially independent is full of
potholes.  I am proud of them.

If I have insulted anyone, I do apologize to you and I will do so privately
too.  I am trying to make a point and I am not making it very well.  I have
had several people tell me that they are new to the Iris-L list and if they
say anything controversial then they get their integrity or no less than their
head bit off because they have voiced their opinion.  This is bad.  And I am
sure that there are several of you that are very knowledgeable in the field of
Iris that no longer talk to newcomers because we have not seemed appreciative
of the information freely given, I myself included no less.

I have been in a university setting with my horticulture major and I had a
professor that was more knowledgeable than the rest, but he wouldn't part with
a lot of that knowledge because he decided that most of the young people asked
him questions, not to gain knowledge, but to hassel or condemn.  Every time
that I had him for a class, I would ask him questions about organic
gardening.  Now this gentleman was not for organic gardening in the least, but
never did he fail to give me a courteous answer to my question.  If I didn't
understand his answer, I would requestion him on the subject.  The younger
people in the class would hold their breath, thinking that he would give me a
blast for me even attempting to ask that and so get the whole class in
trouble.  He never did.   I feel that the reason that he replied the way he
did is that he knew that I truly wanted his answer, that I respected his
opinion, even if it differed from my own opinion.

I feel that the Iris L is like a big class room.  It is for everyone to learn
about things that they don't know or increase their knowledge in what they do
know.  Isn't that what the internet is for?   To increase your own personal
knowledge and help other people learn something that they would not have in a
joy of gardening and especially with Iris.   The reason a newcomer ask the
question is to get a variety of answers.  Maybe us newcomers should be more
thick skinned and if at first you don't succeed to try, try again.

And for you old comers on the L-list.  How about things like:
"I see you have tried this, but I have had better success at doing this
instead"
or
"That didn't work for me"  then try explaining your climate and soil
conditions and weather conditions.  Not everyone will understand if they are
in Utah about Texas or other southern states.
I have to go Guess I will get mail again, but at least it is something to
think about.
Linda Owen Simmons





Rick Tasco/Roger Duncan wrote:

> Glenn Simmons wrote:
> >
> > To All of You Who Say  You Are Organic,
> >
> > I guess I am doing something tonight that 5 years ago I would have never
> > dreamed of doing.  I am going to defend my husband , Glenn Simmons, and
> > Rick Tasco for using chemicals.
>
> > > And Rick Tasco, thank you very much for your help
> > > in telling us what poison to use.   I really do appreciate it.
>
> When my name and the word "poison" are used together, I want to make
> sure the words are my own and I'm saying them.
>
> I'm sorry to have to jump in again, but I want it to be known that we
> do  use some chemicals and fertilizers;  but at the commercial level, it
> almost can't be avoided, but we also do a lot more organic revitalizing
> of our soils than a lot of other commercial operations. We don't
> revitalize our soil with fumigants such as the deadly methyl bromide.
>
> We mainly use solarization (only heat, sun and water) plus tilling in a
> cover crop with crop rotation to re-energize our beds.  We do not pour
> huge amounts of chemicals and fertilizers into our soil.  We just use
> them as sparingly as possible and always following label directions
> carefully and safely.
>
> Here in California to buy and use certain chemicals, I have to take and
> pass an applicator's test and receive a permit each year.  This is under
> the auspices and rules of the State of California.  I also have to turn
> in a monthly report on my chemical use.
>
> And there are other commercial gardens that DO NOT take this test, but
> still buy and use certain restricted chemicals without state control or
> supervision.
>
> Again, sorry to continue on this subject, but I want to assure all that
> we follow the state laws and only use chemicals as absolutely necessary,
> and not with wanton abandon.
>
> Rick Tasco
> Superstition Iris Gardens
> Central California Sierra Nevada foothills--Zone 8
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