Herbicides
Garak (Sat, 01 Feb 2020 06:29:42 PST)
Hi all,
I think what we should keep in mind is that all those little chemical
helpers are just means to counteract the effects of the unbalance we
introduce with our gardening work - we often forget that uncovered open
soil is a highly unnatural state, and a lot of those plants we battle
are just filling their ecological niche. Personally, I decided against
using herbicides in my garden, battling my green nemesis mechanically -
sometimes at high costs, killing an Epipactis among other things when
eradicating Physalis alkengi, sometimes rather futile with Aegogpdium
coming back from surrounding gardens all the time. That way I can at
least be sure that I can eat some of that Aegopidium as a minor moment
of triumph. And sometimes, I just let volunteers grow to learn what they
are - that actually gave me my first Heleborus orientalis.
In commercial agriculture I nurture the hope that herbicides will sooner
or later be replaced by automated mechanical action - new "intelligent"
generations of agricultural equipment can identify wanted and unwanted
plants and may even break up the again highly unnatural mono-cultures by
selective care without loosing the benefit of automation. As for
glyphosate/roundup: I don't care for the hard-to-prove health effects, I
already criticize the wanted effects on species diversity.
I generally try to stay "chemical free" in the open garden to avoid any
unforeseen side effects - with aphids it's a matter of days until the
ladybug larvae start fighting back. But I'm definitely not the one to
cast the first stone, because of the one thing that gives me red hot
rage: my gourmet slugs and their appetite for everything that's unusual,
imported and expensive. I couldn't live without slug pellets.
Martin
Am 01.02.2020 um 03:30 schrieb rrodich@juno.com:
Regarding Hippeastrum (and most bulbs):
for herbicides that work on basic growth processes like glyphosate,
"resistance" often results from the comparatively large biomass. The
same amount of poison might be taken in as another plant that is killed,
but distributed through a much larger mass, resulting in a low
(non-lethal) concentration. The effects of which might not noticed.
Whatever your viewpoint, it's always important to keep an open mind.
There are always things one can learn, from everyone. Those who simply
dismiss a viewpoint as rubbish and take gratification from that name
calling, get no points from me.
Rick Rodich
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--
Martin
----------------------------------------------
Southern Germany
Likely zone 7a
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