Re: poison

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.  I have tried to be organic for several
> years now.   In 2 to 3 years if I had still been living in Texas, I
> could have had the distinction of being declared by the Texas state
> government as organic.   In Texas, you have to be totally organic for 10
> years in order to receive that from the state government.  A person can
> not use any type of chemical for any reason in order to get the state to
> declare you an organic gardener.   So Bill Shear, you by using fungicide
> on your Iris, would lose that distinction in Texas.
> 
> Last year was the first year that my husband Glenn has been out in the
> Iris beds with me.  Before that, I was totally on my own and my love for
> my Iris made me change my major when I decided to go back to college.  I
> chose horticulture.  I know I don't know a lot about a lot of things;
> everytime I go to my old employer Texas Tech University or to the
> horticulture area at Texas A & M.  I find out how much I as a senior at
> Southwest Missouri State University do not know about my own major.
> People that are in their first year of horticulture at either of these 2
> schools could beat the socks off me as far as book knowledge in
> horticulture.  Their first year programs look like master degrees at my
> university.
> 
>    My worst class that I ever did in my major was Weeds 201.  Not
> because I didn't want to learn about weeds, but because all that the
> class was about was the chemical poisons that you are suppose to use in
> agriculture.   My instructor for the class was very surprised at my C
> because I didn't like the poisons.  She had me before in a different
> class and she could tell that I didn't do my best.   I knew I was going
> to go against the norm and do organic gardening, so I totally blew that
> class.
> 
>   I did the organic gardening pretty well up until last year, then it
> sort went bye bye.   For the first time since I started 15 years ago  of
> Iris growing, I found out I now had Iris borer.  I brought it in from my
> Mom's place and also from a local grower.  Before this, I did not have a
> problem.  I did bone meal, peat moss, compost, and horse manure in my
> beds that I had Iris in.  I did square foot gardening with the Iris.  It
> was working out until I was getting too many Iris for the amount of beds
> I had. Then my husband Glenn decided to join me out in the beds.  He has
> been disabled due to back injuries for over 6 years.  He cannot do most
> of the physical labor, I do it, but he does want to breed Iris.  I tell
> people that I just want what everyone else has already bred. Now I have
> a  back injury for 3 years.  I tried tying down espierled apple trees on
> ties that were way over my head and as a result, not only did I injure
> my back, but I haven't finished my degree.  There was a time when I
> first hurt my back that I couldn't drive a car or walk across the
> street.  They (the doctors) say I have only a 5% disability, but it is
> probably more.  I cannot stand for more than 5 minutes at a time.  I do
> all my gardening by sitting down on the ground.  In fact the first time
> I bent down to pull out a weed after I was injured,  I was on bedrest
> for 2 weeks and this was 18 months after the injury.  If this is minor
> back trouble, Glenn has over 50% disability.
> 
> Last year Glenn first sprayed our new Iris beds with Cygon.  You should
> have heard the fight over that one!!  Well, you all that like Henbit, I
> have just spent 4 days weeding henbit out of beds that were weed free
> when we put the Iris to winter sleep.  Today I walked in to take 3 pain
> pills, because my husband was insisting that I finish up today.  Well,
> as he and I both know that things do not go according to plan since our
> injuries.  I have 2 more out of 19 beds to complete weeding and then I
> am done with the beds that have nothing but Iris in them.  That is only
> on a 1/4 of an acre.   And Rick Tasco, thank you very much for your help
> in telling us what poison to use.   I really do appreciate it.
> 
> So I have gone personally from a organic snob to a very grateful over
> mid 40's person that appreciates what my instructors tried to tell me
> about the chemicals.  They do have their place.  Now for all of you that
> have been dying to get all the new catalogs from the hybredizers and the
> commercial growers.  Have you ever thought how much more that the $4
> Iris that you are buying this year because it is low enough for you to
> buy this year.  How much do you think that Rick Tasco and other
> commerical growers and breeders would have to charge you all with hand
> labor that they would have to hire in order to make their beds weed
> free. I think it would be similar to Japanese farmers, you all on the
> Iris L would spend about $20 for that same $4 Iris.  Now personnally, I
> am nuts about whites, so the new white from Ghio would not cost me $50
> but closer to $200.  Interesting,  I think that without these chemicals
> that the larger growers use, that the amount you might be buying this
> year might be considerably less.   Just a thought.
> 
> I do agree that a lot of chemicals are not good.   But don't just blame
> the bee problem on the chemicals.  The man that wrote about the mites is
> right.   Those mites have made a big impact on the bee population.  I
> know people that have bees and they are really scared for their hive
> populations.  This is very bad.  But the chemicals that Rick Tasco said
> to use are being used before there is any bloom on anything in this area
> except Forsythia.  And as far as henbit goes, our beds are only 5 feet
> wide and 20 feet long.  Henbit was so bad on 1/3 of a 20 foot bed with
> one of my personal favorite Iris in it that it took me 4 1/2 hours to
> weed just that little bit.  That is when I said after taking 3 pain
> pills enough is enough.
> 
> And for all of you that say, "Well, if you are in this bad a shape you
> shouldn't do this"  Let me ask you, WOULD YOU GIVE UP YOUR IRIS NO
> MATTER WHAT INJURY YOU HAVE??  Everyone has to have something in life to
> lift their spirit and keep them going.  For my husband, it is the
> prospect of breeding Iris.  So be it.    Oh, by the way, even though I
> say I don't want to breed, watch for our first 2 introductions 2 years
> from now.  One is my own breeding, the other another hybredizer that is
> very old.  My husband Glenn's breeding will be down the road in 5 years
> or more.  Also I have bred a new Celosia and a new perennial salvia.
> How is that for not finishing my major.
> 
> Linda Simmons
> Knee deep in Henbit instead of Texas Blue Bonnets.  Hope you all in
> Texas know how lucky you are to have the Blue Bonnets.


Linda, what part of Texas are you from?  I now live in McKinney, just
north of Plano and Dallas.  My private e-mail is barotta2@airmail.net
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