\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Silent Spring,<\/i> that\u2019s what Rachel Carson titled her 1962 book that investigated the disappearance of neighborhood songbirds.\u00a0 Her expose<\/i> linking the use of chemical pesticides to the decline of wildlife species, spurred the environmental movement of the sixties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We often hear of environmental disasters caused by big companies.\u00a0 But, many people do not think about how their own actions may contribute to the level of toxic chemicals in our environment.\u00a0 It is important to realize that \u201cwe all live upstream\u201d<\/i> and chemicals we use may combine and become more concentrated and affect those that live further downstream. Many of our waterways, such as the Hood Canal, are extremely sensitive because of the slow rate at which the water is exchanged and ultimately diluted in larger bodies of water such as the Pacific Ocean.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Gardeners use various types of chemicals in their yards. Pesticides include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, and slug baits.\u00a0 Petroleum-based chemical fertilizers, although generally not as toxic as pesticides, can cause severe problems in lakes, rivers and bays, encouraging algal blooms and limiting the amount of oxygen for fish and other animals.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The best way to avoid using pesticides is to grow plants that are not as susceptible to insect damage and disease.\u00a0 I curse my apple trees because all I ever get are scabby, wormy apples.\u00a0 On the other hand, I love my plum tree and blueberry bushes.\u00a0 They produce bountiful crops with little care!\u00a0 If you grow troublesome species such as apples or roses, try to select varieties that are disease resistant.\u00a0 If a plant becomes too much of a problem it is better to be ruthless with the plant and replace it with something else than to spend the time and money on chemicals to kill its pests.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make sure you diagnose plant problems correctly.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be in a rush to spray at the first sign of a \u201cbug\u201d or a little nibbling.\u00a0 Try to tolerate a little damage.\u00a0 The problem may take care of itself naturally.\u00a0 Be able to recognize beneficial organisms such a ladybug larva.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Baits are preferable to spraying because they limit exposure to nontarget organisms.\u00a0 If you decide to spray, use the least toxic alternative.\u00a0 Read the Label!\u00a0 Chemicals labeled Danger<\/strong> are highly toxic, Warning<\/strong> means moderately toxic, and Caution<\/strong> means mildly toxic.\u00a0 These warnings, however, will not tell you if it is carcinogenic or mutagenic, only how many lab animals it killed in testing.\u00a0 Only buy the amount you need, following the recommended application rates, at the proper time– no matter how desperate you are to eradicate the pest!\u00a0 <\/i>Avoid \u201cdouble-duty\u201d products such as \u201cweed & feeds.\u201d Also, just because a product is from a natural source does not mean it is safe, although it may be less persistent in the environment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I rarely use any chemicals in my yard any more.\u00a0 My resident garter snake population takes care of most of my slugs.\u00a0 In my gardens, I use only Tagro,<\/i> compost, and organic fertilizers.\u00a0 The use of slow-release chemical fertilizers is limited to my container plants.\u00a0 I do, however, spray my foundation\u00a0when necessary\u00a0to discourage Carpenter Ants from eating my house.\u00a0 Weeds present the biggest challenge to avoiding chemical use.\u00a0 Planting groundcovers and mulching discourage some but there are always plenty of weeds that need to be pulled!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reducing chemical use in the garden requires tolerance of some other organisms\u2014such as insects and weeds.\u00a0 Maybe, eventually, you can convince your neighbor that, to save our planet, it\u2019s not so important to have a perfect, weed-free lawn!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(This article was first published in the Peninsula Gateway\u00a0<\/em>on Apr 15, 2009 as Is there Chemical Warfare in your yard?”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Silent Spring, that\u2019s what Rachel Carson titled her 1962 book that investigated the disappearance of neighborhood songbirds.\u00a0 Her expose linking the use of chemical pesticides to the decline of wildlife species, spurred the environmental movement of the sixties. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We often hear of environmental disasters caused by big companies.\u00a0 But, many people do not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habitathorticulturepnw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}