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  • From: Zachary Domike <zdomike@yahoo.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Poisoned Hay. was Soil testing
  • Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:00:39 -0700 (PDT)

Bad news from the herbicide developers, again.

There are several sprays, here & in Canada marketed as Tordon, which only
kill dicots, leaving the monocot grasses intact. The challenge is that it
looks innocent enough in manure of the animals you might use to compost - and
imagine the effects on digestive microbes!?!?!

But the irresponsible corporations have not tested its full life-cycle. They
just blindfold the government to get approval for a single use, "control
weeds in hayfields" and forget downstream effects. Now we are the guinea
pigs. And imagine the effects on our guts' microbes!?!?!

After contaminated manure is applied, the only thing that grows well is
monocots, and the only monocot green winter cover (AKA Green Manure) is oats.

For major gorse control, I am about to try a layer of cardboard on the cut
gorse, with sprouted oats mixed into clay to make Fukuoka-style seedballs (to
stick to the cardboard, but also to prevent the birds from picking them out
so readily.)

The Tordon herbicide reportedly takes three years to break down, but that
mgiht be wishful thinking!
Keep up the Good Fight, against GE and herbicides-
Zack

Harvey Wrote:
The folks affected were my friends Rachel and Eric of Waterpenny Farm
(Sperryville, VA). The herbicide in question goes under the trade name
of "Grazon" or "Graze-on" something like that, don't know the chemical
name. And yes, it is so inimical to plant life that it's able to *kill*
garden plants even after passing through the digestive system of the horse.

I too don't know how long breakdown takes. But it's something to be on
guard against. In the contemporary context, all sources of organic
matter from the outside should be judged guilty until proven innocent.

~Harvey

Patricia Ruggiero wrote:
> Yarrow wrote:
>
>> I add kitchen waste from 1-3 households to my compost. . .and the
>> occasional bagful of
>> coffee grounds from local coffee shops. And the bales of hay that are
>> donated to the community garden in the fall.
>
> The hay can be contaminated with those herbicides previously mentioned.
> About 2-3 yrs ago it happened to an organic market gardener in central
> Virginia. The couple bought hay from a local farmer to mulch half their veg
> beds. A few days later the plants showed signs of stress. Extension Agent
> said it looked like chemical poisoning. Very soon the problem was traced to
> that hay. Volunteers removed the hay, but I never did read if they got it
> off soon enough to avoid poisoning the soil. The food crops were destroyed.
>
> Pat
> Central Virginia, USDA zone 7







  • [Livingontheland] Poisoned Hay. was Soil testing, Zachary Domike, 03/31/2010

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