Grow Your Own Magazine

We're new to the plot but have found everyone to be really friendly and very generous - one of our neighbours gave us a lots of plants (with slug pellets on but we removed those) and the other neighbour helped fix our shed when the wind blew it off kilter.

But today the first neighbour - slugpellet man- told us he had some weed killer left over so put it on our buttercups for us. Terribley kind of him I suppose but we are *trying* to be organic and I've got 2 young children who play happily on our plot. I will be forever paranoid now incase someone has put something else down with out telling me.

And second neighbour -shed man- arrived this afternoon to spray his weeds. It is so windy - the wind blowing in the direction of our plot too. So I had to come home so that my children didn't get it in their faces.

I don't know what they were using but just how cautious do I need to be with the children around? And with them being directly to the sides of us does it mean we aren't really being organic at all?

"I don't know what they were using but just how cautious do I need to be with the children around? "

I don't think your neighbour should be spraying at all if it is windy enough to carry.

I don't think that the buttercups that were sprayed pose any threat, but it depends a bit what they were sprayed with. Roundup is safe to drink - although I don't recommend it; Agent Orange is probably not so friendly!

Do your neighbours know you want to be organic? That might be a start. I want to be green, and my gardener keeps having bonfires. Its taking me ages to find ways of getting him to recycle the stuff that we used to burn. He, of course, just thinks I am nuts!

If the farmers round here are spraying we all stay indoors, not just the kids.

Hopefully you have, or can develop, a relationship with your neighbours where if they are spraying on a windy day you can ask them not to. If they only have a few hours here and there to do their garden it may not be that easy to find a suitable time, but usually late evening is best because a) the wind drops and b) children are indoors.

He isn't going to be very popular if his spray kills the plants in your garden!

P.S. He might be spraying flowers with water to help them pollinate

Most weedkillers ect nowadays are pretty safe for use around pets and children but only when they are dry.

__________________
The greatness comes not when things go always good for you,but the greatness comes when you are really tested,when you take,some knocks,some disappointments;because only if youv'e been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.

Thanks for your responses.

He was definately using weed killer - he told us

I'm not too worried now I know they are ok when they are dry.

The children, the pets or the weedkiller???

__________________
Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic
Ladies: please do not shave your heads - not on my watch. Normal service resumes 1st Nov.