Roundup

[Anne Kilmer]

Diane, 
Roundup is not friendly stuff. 
Read the instructions on the package. You see those warnings about not
using it near water? That's because it kills the critters in the water,
whether plant, animal or in between. Protista, they call them these
days. 
It also kills the little guys in the soil, and, despite the makers'
claims, does some damage to trees, shrubs and forbs whose roots it
touches. 
Why don't you buy yourself a neat little flamethrower and go along
scorching the plants you don't like? unless you set the woods on fire,
that's a pretty low-impact way of killing weeds. 
You can also do a lot with boiling water. 
Yeah, yeah, this, too is hard on the earthworms. 
if you must use Roundup, use the sponge-on-a-stick method, so you don't
affect anyone you don't mean to hurt. You needn't coat the whole plant;
just moisten a good quantity of it. 
cheers
Anne Kilmer
  
     Instead of quietly ignoring the Roundup issue I'd like to see more
information shared regarding toxicity and butterfly gardening.  I may
receive some _heat_ for throwing my usage into the hat so hear goes.
     None of us using Roundup truly wish to poison the earth nor larvae,
nor bees when we choose to apply an herbicide rated such as is Roundup,
yet we all must _deep down_ understand any chemical will "given timely
research" be discovered to have negative impact.   
     To keep my own Roundup use as safe as is possible I voluntarily
chose to spray (with hand-held gear) on windless periods of the day.  I
try to remember to wear goggles and gloves.  I spray as close to ground
level as possible.  
     Example.  Last November during a week of extremely warm sunny
weather I sprayed crab grass which had invaded areas where narcissus
bulbs grow along my driveway.  This one dose seems to have been
effective because the grass is now brown and no fresh green shoots are
appearing.
     In another part of my eleven acres of butterfly gardens I sprayed
(again near to soil level) lawn which I wish to turn over with my Tiller
early in the spring so I could plant a larger patch of Monarch
host-plant and perennials.  Again---the Kentucky blue grass is deceased
and weather-permitting, I shall be able to work in this area very soon.
     I wish I could know there was no long-term nor unknown negative
effects from my use of this chemical.  Time and research will tell.  
Responsible use of the product will tell, as will irresponsible usage. 
     I prefer to lean toward safety yet I alone am responsible for
holding aggressive species of weeds at bay.  I prefer to lean toward
safety because I cannot prove, nor disprove how DDT, and other farm
chemicals might have triggered a fatal brain tumor in our three year
old.
     What I am obviously trying to say is this:
     Spray low, spray responsibly, spray intelligently and try to do no
harm with what we know to be true with Roundup.   I recieve no funding
from Roundup, so this is not a commercial.  <Deep Sigh) I wish we could
all garden with no chemicals,...yet even baking soda on rose bushes is
using a chemical.  That's all I know how to share until time permits
more accumulated wisdom.
Have a great lepidoptera season!
Diane Falk

diane at serendipity-gardens.com
Serendipity B & B *** Serendipity Children's Memorial Gardens Foundation
Butterfly and Hummingbird Host and Nectar Plant Resources 
http://www.serendipity-gardens.com  >i< >i< >i< 
diane at serendipity-gardens.com

Diane Falk wrote:
> 
>    Part 1.1    Type: Plain Text (text/plain)
>            Encoding: quoted-printable