poison

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.
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