Food's Silent Spring

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am feeling so sad and guilty. I actually bought imidacloprid, trade name Merit, this spring. But the good news is I didn't use it and now I certainly won't. Now I have to figure out how to safely dispose this. The arborist from the company who sprays my hemlocks twice a year with horticulural oil told me this was what I needed for the leafminers that were seemingly destroying my boxwoods. Luckily I never got to doing the drench and also after reading the cautions I was reluctant to do so. Then I read this article. In the meantime the boxwoods have put out new growth and look great. And I will spray them when the adults appear with Neem Oil.

From the Spring 2013 Newsmagazine of Friends of the Earth

"One out of every three bites of food we eat is pollinated by honeybees,” Lisa Archer, the director of 

Friends of the Earth’s Food and Technology Program, likes to point out when she tells someone about the plight facing bees in the United States. “In fact, bees and other pollinators are necessary for about 75 percent of our global food crops. From nuts and soybeans, to squash and cucumbers,
from apples, oranges, cherries and blueberries, to avocados, peaches and melons, bees play a critical role in producing the food we eat.” Yet these essential pollinators have never
been in more danger.

The New York Times recently reported on Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon in which bee colonies have been mysteriously collapsing when adult bees seemingly abandon their hives. Beekeepers from Texas to California have reported die-offs of between 50 and 70 percent this last winter.
A growing body of scientific evidence points to a class of neurotoxic pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics for short, as a key factor in Colony Collapse Disorder. Neonics are the fastest-growing class of synthetic pesticides, and Bayer Crop Science’s neonic ‘imidacloprid’ is the most widely used insecticide in the world. They are persistent, last in the soil for years, permeate the entire plant and are later released in pollen, nectar and dew. And they can’t be washed off food, meaning that we are all eating them.What’s worse, Lisa says, is that “neonics aren’t just used in commercial agriculture. Many of the plants and seeds sold in nurseries across the United States have been pre-treated with the pesticides at much higher doses than are used on farms.” But, she notes, by buying only certified organic seeds and plants you may be able to help protect bees and other pollinators that visit your garden. Bees are the “canary in the coal mine” for a healthy and sustainable food system. The worst die-off of commercial bee colonies since colony collapse began is a clear message that the hemically-intensive industrial agriculture system currently in place isn’t working. Friends of the Earth is calling for a transition to just and sustainable ecological agriculture and saving the bees is part of the solution. Please join us in calling on retailers to stop selling neonic-treated plants and seeds and off-the-shelf neonic pesticides. Learn more about what you can do to protect bees in your backyard and take action at www.beeaction.org.

Here is a link to the website

http://www.foe.org/publications/newsmagazines

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This makes me so sad, but really doesn't surprise me. If I let myself, I can envision a distant future very much like the movie Soylent Green, where trees, birds, deer, fruit, etc., only exist in pictures and memories. As it is, no matter where I buy produce, it never tastes like what I ate as a child.

Thank you for being environmentally conscious and caring about more than your own backyard, F. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

We all need to look beyond our own little patch. I have been wondering about what I'll do when I completely retire. It really is more scary in thought than it may be in reality. I was wondering if some environmental sort of group can use some help I can do from near or at home. I was thinking about this as I wrote this discussion.

BTW,Most veggies and fruit take some labor but anyone can throw some grape tomato plants in pots. And a warm grape tomato popped in the mouth is great : ) a few berries are great too.
All this reminds me of Sherri, I hope she,s OK and planting on her deck.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Have you ever heard of "guerilla gardening"?  It's where people plant veggies etc. in public places that are currently being unused in a city.  A planter on the side of the street, patch of earth between buildings etc.

It's technically illegal, but I think it's an ingenious use of space for apartment-dwellers ;)

[Lynda Kamrath]

Try growing some of your own.  It really isn't so hard and takes very little room.  We have the kids make little square foot garden boxes to plant and take home at the end of each class session.  They love it.  You can plant anything you want and the boxes have gopher wire (chicken wire) and landscape cloth on the bottom, so they can breathe.  They assemble, paint, and plant the boxes.  It is an on-going thing and they can be placed anywhere - kind of like the pet rocks we had many years ago. 

[Sharon & Monty]

uh oh F,  the more you know, the sadder you will get.  I'm not a purist, but I buy organically, plant organically and the only time I use nasty stuff is to keep the poison ivy stands from taking over.  I have hated Monsanto for years, same thing, the more you know about this outfit, the angrier you will get.  But its not just the companies that manufacture bee killing stuff, its our own government that fails to do anything about it.  :(  But you are so right, we have to start in our own yards.    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/29/bee-harming-pesti...

[F, Calla & Luca]

Interesting link, thanks Sharon. I try to be mostly organic but who knows what's been done to say the annuals and roses etc. I buy. Where do you get your plants? Any good on line organic sources.

[Sharon & Monty]

I should have said I mostly go organic.  Buying organic seed is easy, some garden plants can be found at our local greenhouse.  A wonderful online http://www.seedsofchange.com   I haven't tried starting my own garden seeds for many years, but its on my list!  There are so many other nifty varieties of vegetables available. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I get the Seeds of Change catalogs but hey have few flowers and I just grow tomatoes and mabe some herbs , berries and I have a couple of rhubarb plants.

[Camilla and Darwin]

This is a very disheartening and saddening subject that I've learned somewhat about in my classes as of late. I am not knowledgeable about plants and gardens, although we have talked at great length about cornerstone species, and pollinator species. Troubling times indeed. :-(

[Lynda Kamrath]

Oh, this is a great topic to be thinking about and learning all you can.  I have been teaching gardening to children all year and will do it again next year but in Salinas.  Tomorrow is our luncheon/planning meeting for next year and I have a presentation (pictures) to give and declare my goals for next year.  We have been planting totally organic in Monterey and in my home garden.  BTW, 46 tomato fruit sets in my garden today and they will start to be ripe in a couple of weeks.  We usually don't have tomatoes until July, but it will be earlier this year.  I love to wander through the garden and count the fruit sets (especially tomatoes).  And yes, please think of the bees and butterflies.  There is no need to be using pesticides in your gardens.