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market-farming - Re: More bad luck starting plants

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Subject: Market Farming

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "jay gee" <jgj23 AT mindspring.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>, "Jeffery Blake" <echoecho AT bedford.heartland.net>
  • Subject: Re: More bad luck starting plants
  • Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 02:33:47 +0000


On Tue, 3 Apr 2001 21:17:40 -0500, Jeffery Blake wrote:

>I am amazed that I keep finding myself as an apoligist for the chemical
>companies. But this seems a little strange to me. Chlorine is a fairly
>natural chemical isn't it. Don't several natural processes give off
>chlorine.

Hi Jeff,

As I recall from high school chemistry, chlorine does not exist in
its free state in nature for very long because it is such a highly
reactive molecule. In the pure, gaseous state, it is highly toxic
and will suffocate you quickly by destroying your lungs, given
a lethal concentration.

>Are we more likely to take up natural chlorine than chlorine that
>we use to disinfect our houses, gardens or to clean our clothes?

Chlorine is relatively abundant in nature in the compound
sodium chloride (salt), but otherwise is not widespread.

>Is the use of chlorine better or worse than drinking bacteria invested
>water? What are the alternatives?

The doses of chlorine needed to kill off bacteria in the water
supply piped to our homes is so small as to be negligible.

This thread prompted me to pull out my 1960 edition of the
Encyclopedia Britannica which give a long, detailed description
of chlorine's uses, it manufacture and a list of some very
serious side effects about persistence in the environment,
breakdown in soil, interaction with plants and with plastics, etc.

All in all, I would avoid the stuff as much as possible.

Jay Gee
not a farmer, but interested in farming







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