The Rural Voice, 2003-10, Page 46so. "Neem" is one case in point.
Though it is readily available
south of the border. our government
requires that the company wanting to
sell it in Canada perform expensive
efficacy studies required for all
chemicals. even organic products.
The same studies are not required for
organic solutions in the United States.
Randy raised some other interesting
points. We need to be doing more
research into long-term (two years or
more) effects of exposure to very low
toxicity chemicals. Gardeners who
work with these seemingly
inoffensive solution's may be'
observing problems years later if
there is an accumulative effect. Just
one reason to handle any organic, or
natural insecticide/pesticide with
care.
Another issue involves
municipalities looking at pesticide
bylaws that would allow limited use
of pesticides for infestations and for
public health reasons. These bylaws
permit the use of products that pose
little or no health or environmental
risks. Most pesticide bylaws include a
list of permitted pest controls. But if
everyone followed the IPM strategy
there would be little need for stronger
pesticides in the home garden.
Randy briefly explained how some
of the basic pest controls work. He
started with my favourite, insecticidal
soap. The active ingredient is
potassium salts of fatty acids which
break down the outer cell membrane
of soft -bodied insects causing them to
dehydrate and die. There is no
chemical residue and no offensive
odour.
The active ingredient pyrethrum is
from the chrysanthemum family. It is
used against soft -bodied insects,
beetles and caterpillars. It is
biodegradable in sunlight and on
contact with soil. Mixed with an oil it
makes a good garden horticultural oil
or insecticide.
Canola oil is used now instead of
the old-fashioned mineral oil to help
the pyrethrum stick to the insect. It is
also good with soft insects as well as
adult and nymph stages of mealy
bugs, scale and other hard bodied
insects. It biodegrades in the soil and
does not contaminate water.
Then there are the sulfur
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42 THE RURAL VOICE
compounds. Natural sulfur is the
oldest and best known fungicide. It
controls powdery mildew, rust, and
black spot.
Sulfurs are used as a preventative
offering protection against fungus
spores that land on your roses,
hollyhocks and phlox. You could be
spraying as often as every one or two
weeks depending on the level of
infestation. But you could also plant
varieties that are more resistant to
fungus, control your watering habits
and make sure there is room for air
circulation around the garden to all
help reduce or avoid the work of
applying the sulphur dust or spray.
Ferric (iron) phosphate is another
natural compound that will not harm
your pets or the wildlife in your
garden. Combined with yeast it
makes a good snail bait. Randy took a
bite of it to illustrate how harmless it
was, but he didn't say it was all that
tasty and gladly accepted a glass of
water. It is processed in a pellet form
and will last up to 14 days on the soil
surface. It will biodegrade in the soil.
Controlling unwanted pests in our
gardens involves knowing the
requirements of the plants in our
garden, controlling pests before they
become an infestation, and choosing
chemical controls that will have the
least impact on our garden and hence
on us. It seems so practical to
consider these points when gardening
that it should come as second nature
to us.
Gardeners learn something new
every time they enter their garden.
Next month I will tell you about the
symbiotic association of fungus to
plant roots. I know it sounds like a
sleeper topic but I almost hate to dig
and disturb anything in my garden
after learning more about life below
the soil surface.0
Now you can
reach us by e-mail
Contact us at:
norhuron@scsinternet.com
or write to us the good
old-fashioned way at:
The Rural Voice,
P.O. Box 429,
Blyth, ON NOM 1H0