Popular Herbicide Linked to Birth Defects

I don't usually write about the negative effects of conventional agriculture but I feel its important to share hard data when it comes available.  According to a study by researchers at the University of Washington, the popular herbicide Atrazine (used in commercial growers and in consumer lawn care products) is linked to Gastroschisis, a birth defect where intestines and sometimes other organs are formed outside abdominal wall.  It is rarely fatal and is treated with surgery.  The researchers first began wondering if there was an environmental effect when they notice the birth defect rate was much higher in the agricultural part of the state, several times higher than the national average.

Atrazine has been in the news before being linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs and prostate cancer in factory workers where atrazine is made.  Atrazine, along with 24D, a common herbicide used locally in hay production and on lawns, seem to be more highly linked to prostate cancer in men to work professionally applying the chemicals.  I've noticed that many of the men I know who have had prostate cancer are in agriculture and have used these chemicals extensively.

The EPA has not acted on the current scientific reports.  Atrazine is scheduled to begin review in 2010 but the review could take months or years.

To me, it is common sense not to use these chemicals.  For lawn care, must mow the weeds until the grass comes in in May.  For gardens, use plastic row covers, carpet, mulch or corn gluten (a natural herbicide) instead.

Seed Starting Update - Week 4

It's week 4 and my tomatoes and basil planted on February 1st are ready for transplant.  I usually transplant from the 1 inch slots in the seed starter to 4 in. pots because of the large quantity of plants and limited greenhouse space.  Remember, LAST FROST DATE IS MID APRIL!!!  While it's good for business, gardeners should either wait for April or...well, I'll see a lot of you in March (and April).

Clearly from the pictures, you can see that sterile soil is not necessary...and probably is conducive the superior growth later on.  Malcolm always taught me to listen to nature...and then do what she says.

So back to transplanting...  My 4 week old plants are around 4 inches tall and the roots fill the cells.  If you are using self-watering propogation kits like me, you do not want to leave the plants much longer as the wicking mat will be filled with roots.

Transplant Mix.  I make my own and, of course it is full of organic and natural materials.  I spare not expense because it is much easier to splurge on my 4 in. pot than in the garden.  so here's my recipe I used this time:

• 3 parts potting soil
• 3 parts cotton burr compost
• 3 parts horse manure
• 1 part earthworm castings
• 1 part Texas greensand
• (sprinkling of some mined minerals - azomite, zeolite, and desert peat)

This time, I also spiked the mix with Rabbit Hill's Buds N Blooms 6-8-4.  Usually, I use Gardenville's Rocket Fuel but the BnB was handier.  In both cases, they contain a high amount of soft rock phosphate that Malcolm Beck reported adding an additional 20% of fruit production.  It must be place near the roots as it gets bound up in the soil pretty fast and the plants take up the majority of their needed amount in the first two weeks.

I keep them in the green house until they are ready to sell or I'm ready to transplant.  They will need a minimum of 2 additional weeks before transplanting but more is probably better.  If you plan to keep them in the green house until April, a second transplant will be needed.

Heirloom Tomatoes Next.  My heirloom tomato varieties will be ready next week (plant date was February 7th).  I follow the same general practices as this week but I add a few tricks which I learned from the best tomato growing book I know, Giant Tomatoes, giant yields - giant weights.  The author interviews the world record holders to uncover their secrets for success.

Rain! Rain! Rain!

Get Rid of Grassburs...Naturally!

Mat Sandbur, more commonly known as grassburs - or "stickers", are a common problem in the Texas Hill Country. A natural solution for grassburs is corn gluten, a natural non-selective, pre-emergent herbicide. You must have it in place and active before the grassbur seeds sprout. Once the plants are growing, there isnt' much you can do beyond hoeing, Round-up, or an IED (improvised explosive device like they use in Iraq). Since hoeing is too much work, people reading my blog are not likely to use Round-Up, and IEDs usually cause some collateral damage (such as burning your house down or killing the cat), I suggest using corn gluten now.

For our area, corn gluten should be applied around March 1st. This gives it plenty of time to become active in the soil and still give it coverage through the spring growing season. One application lasts around 10 to 12 weeks. If we have a wet summer or early fall, a second application will be necessary.

Application rate is 10 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. so a 40 lb. bag covers 4000 sq. ft. Be sure to get horticultural corn gluten - the feed grade stuff does not have enough active ingredient in it. Check the tag and make sure that nitrogen is at least 9 percent. (A nice "side effect" of corn gluten is the greening power derived from the high nitrogen content!) Also, if you have a choice, get the granular version. Some people sell a powdered version which works well and is a few dollars cheaper but it will paint your legs yellow from the knees down and the wind will scatter most of it on your neighbors property!

Past customers tell me that you should expect a significant and noticable decline in grassburs in the first year but it takes 3 years to eliminate them.

One caveat, corn gluten is a non-selective pre-emergent which means that is prevents all seeds from sprouting including wildflowers and garden seeds. Don't use where you want other seeds to sprout!