Pollution on Allotments

They have stopped putting lead in petrol now so that shouldn't be a problem. Carbon dioxide is good for plants and cars have strict emmision control laws on monoxide now. Is there a particular chemical you are worried about?

I used to work and live near a steel works which belched out red dust.

It wasn't until i moved out of the area I realised cauliflowers weren't supposed to be pink.

I was thinking of growing my own veg for health reasons but the carbon monoxide and the diesel fumes are worrying me. I used to love picking blackberries by the roadside until I realised there could be a large amount of chemicals that they might be absorbing which would then would pass through to my biological system.

I must admit there are lotties at my 'local' site but it's next to the motorway (M11) and I don't want them...It seems logical that pollution would get into the veg - is this right? I know if you search there's a list of veg that do/don't take up pollution, but as Joe says, the idea is we eat better but if they're full of fumes would that be true - anyone?
NB I know when you drive down the motorway you see fields of crops, so would it be any worse?

I would have thought that ideally you would want to reduce the amount of pollution in which you grow. However, if you don't have a choice then you're far better growing your own and at least controlling what you are putting on your food than buying stuff that could have been grown in a much worse location, covered in chemicals and then flown half way around the world.

I'd have to wholeheartedly agree with Alison.

Yep, I agree with Alison too! In an ideal world, of course we would all want to be pollution free, but it has to be better to at least control the food miles and the chemicals used on our own crops - plus the taste is soooo much better.

Plant a hedge round the edges of the allotment, that'll filter out whatever it is you're worried about

Leylandii I presume or some other evergreen. How tall should I let them grow? Won't they rob the goodness from the soil too?

Its the diesel from the lorry park that worries me most. Diesel is supposed to be carcogenic.

My granddad had a plot on the railway embankment in the days of the steam train. He lived to a ripe old age as did many of his fellow embankment mates. It wasn't the soot, smog and fumes from the coal fired engines that did for that generation it was WW2. It's good to be "green" but I agree with Alison - lets get growing and stop the air miles.

It could get complicated when we start asking ourselves "How far from a major road or factory do we need to be before it is deemed acceptable?"

If you have a choice of allotments on various sites you can make up your own mind, and take that one.

If like most of us you haven't got that choice, it all boils down to 'beggars can't be choosers' and you either take the plot or not as the case may be.

My own personal wiew is I would rather have some control over what is used on my veg, rather than buy shop bought produce which could have been grown anywhere and doused with pesticides etc!

Looking on the bright side, at least it will be easy for you to get manure to your plot. Unlike some of us who have to go in by the wheelbarrowful at a time. I could think of nicer ways to spend those hours...

It could get complicated when we start asking ourselves "How far from a major road or factory do we need to be before it is deemed acceptable?"

A few years ago down here in tropical Dorset we got up one morning to find the car covered in sand, the report was this sand had come in from the Sahara desert, so as Snadger said how far away do you deem safe.

If you're worried, do as per other posters suggestions and plant a "sacrificial hedge" round the edge - something nice and tall like sweetcorn, interspersed with tall pretty things of about that height should filter out quite a lot. Most allotments have rules about "permanent structures" or trees over a certain height ...

To be honest, anything's got to be better for you than veg that are at least a week old and have been "packaged in a protective environment" (e.g. pre-packaged salad) or flown in from mexico!!!

Just wash them thoroughly to ensure that no surface particles get into your dinner.

If you go to the archives of New Scientist (.com) you should get a fair bit of info on pollution from roads and how it affects crops.
My understanding is, lead used to be the main problem, because it was ingested by humans when they ate the crops. The nitrous oxides which are now the main byproduct of incomplete combustion of fuels supposedly can act as a fertiliser on plants; crop yields have been shown to be increased near roads. In humans, they may actually be beneficial.
But there is also ozone, which is a side product of nitrous oxides reacting with sunlight, and which causes damage to the plants (just as it does to humans in high doses). There are particulates (soot to you and me) but they are all over the place, miniscule particles that get everywhere, so not much extra to worry about unless you are getting lots of black diesel fumes belching out right next to you - in which case, a physical barrier will be really effective. Leylandii will survive any kind of air pollution and need minimal soil nutrients.
My guess is, your worst pollution risk is run-off, especially after rain. Fuel and oil spills concentrated in puddles, large quantities of tiny particles of tyre rubber with its notorious heavy metals and toxic plasticisers - not good to have on your plot.
And for all that Joe, your food would still be light years ahead of anything sprayed with all sorts of pesticides and herbicides - especially anything grown in polytunnels in the South of Spain. You want to worry about your health, type "Bisphenol A" into a search engine !