| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Annika |
Posted - Apr 13 2010 : 6:57:26 PM
When there is mono-cropped, pesticide ridden and likely GMO wheat on all sides of you? The crop dusters are always flying over my house and dusting with only God knows what.
I'm just discouraged. Trying to grow healthy organic food in this environment is daunting to say the least. 
Can't wait to be able to purchase my own land and get away from the pesticides YUCK!
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| graciegreeneyes |
Posted - Apr 15 2010 : 08:31:17 AM
Annika - I think about this alot being, like you, in the midst of wheat country. I had to laugh (ironic laugh, not really amused:)) one morning as I was driving my VW camper van to work at the organic food store and got passed over by a crop duster. Sigh....
Amy Grace
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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| willowtreecreek |
Posted - Apr 14 2010 : 07:45:51 AM
Chemical Drift is a huge concern for organic companies. The drift can cause trace amounts to be detected in chemical tests. Fortunatly for the home grower this is just TRACE amounts. Even with this small amount you are still much better off than a lot of the chemical laden produce you find in the store. The farmers in my area spray at the sametime every year. I even know the farmer and he is happy to share his spraying schedual. Since I have raised beds I can cover them and avoid planting for about 3 or 4 days after the spraying has occured. This really cuts down on chemical drift residue.
The real issue is when Chemical Drift contaminates a certified organic farmers fields causeing them to lose certification. This can cause a SERIOUS loss in revenue when their customers expect an organic product and they are no longer able to label and sell it as such.
Here is a link to an article about an organic farm that was actually awarded $1 million in damages when a neighboring farms chemical drift caused them a temporary loss of Organic certification. http://www.panna.org/files/SFChronFarmDriftSuit20080930.pdf
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.eggsandherbs.com
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| Alee |
Posted - Apr 14 2010 : 07:39:39 AM
Annika- That SO frustrating!! I too think that a green house or row covers are your best bet. If nothing else call the University Inn in Moscow and ask if you can have some of their throw away sheets and then go cover up your garden with old sheets on spray days.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Apr 14 2010 : 05:37:33 AM
Annika, with all that flying around it's hard not to get some of the risidual drift. I have a neighbor across the road who has leased his field to someone who planted soybeans last year and is getting the field ready to plant corn this year. They have been coming and going over there with truck after truck of some kind of nasty stuff. The field is brown right now. So I assume they have sprayed herbicides. It's reallt scary when I am right across the road and I am organic and heirlooms. So even I am not safe. I could not be certified I don't think with all that going on over there. So I guess a greenhouse would be the best way for you to go right now. It is frustrating I know. I just want to holler at them.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| patchworkpeace |
Posted - Apr 14 2010 : 05:29:02 AM
I feel for you. We are surrounded by GMO corn/soybean farms. Row covers may help filter some of the spray. Good luck and hang in there.
Judy
Success is measured not by the position one reaches but by the obstacles one has to overcome to reach it. Booker T. Washington |
| vegetarian farmer |
Posted - Apr 14 2010 : 05:04:16 AM
You could try a hoop house or green house. It may stop some of the pesticide from getting to your crops. Or mushrooms in the basement, or hydroponics. I think that none of us is really safe. There is no truly safe land left in the US. I have the same thing. All the farms around me use GMO, roundup, and spray like crazy. I have a nuclear Power plant 30 miles away. Every house in my neighborhood has lost someone to cancer, young and old.I even had my water tested to see if anything showed up there, but they only test if you know what exact pesticide you are looking for. Some days I think, why am I going to all this trouble when it seems hopeless, that everything is contaiminated from our clothes to the air we breath. While I may not live any longer, I hope the quality of my life is better. You have to do the right thing. And maybe you will influence one other person,and they might influence another, and someday there may be a revolution. Let's hope.
Jane |
| farmmilkmama |
Posted - Apr 13 2010 : 8:14:56 PM
How frustrating!! Its hard to try and do what you think is right when everyone around you is messin' it up!! I hope that your own land comes soon and you can have better neighbors someday. Some people just don't get it, do they???
((Hugs))...and thanks for being one of those people who is "trying" even if everything around them makes it really hard.
--* FarmMilkMama *--
Farmgirl Sister #1086
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
-Oscar Wilde
www.wakeupstartlearning.blogspot.com
www.farmfoodmama.blogspot.com |
