tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post1871551993659437897..comments2023-10-22T08:54:23.218-07:00Comments on The Accidental Farmer (Retired): HarvestingThe Accidental Farmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09939230112226415887noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post-45813562169246622562011-08-29T11:39:21.089-07:002011-08-29T11:39:21.089-07:00I am about to the point of only eating stuff I rai...I am about to the point of only eating stuff I raised, or stuff from the farmers market that I know is good, can ask the farmer questions. I buy organic for most of the other stuff. I found a place in CA where I can buy truly raw almonds - NOT pasteurized. I try. It's all we can do. We learn our lessons and move on.The Accidental Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09939230112226415887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post-68399264440985286382011-08-29T11:35:11.108-07:002011-08-29T11:35:11.108-07:00Some of the more acute cases gardeners have had ar...Some of the more acute cases gardeners have had around here sound like it has maybe taken 2 to 3 seasons (years) before the stuff has seemed to dissipate enough that no signs of damage appear on the crops they grow in those locations. <br /><br />Interestingly to me, some of these herbicides seem to be the ones that are marketed as having the lowest time after spraying until you can supposedly allow ruminants back grazing on the field. You know, I think Forefront says you can allow grazing back on a sprayed field after only 7 days or something like that. But clearly, the stuff is being consumed by the animals, surviving through their digestive tract and even the composting process and a year later, persist enough in finished compost to have it's negative affects on many common garden vegetables. I don't think we even WANT to start thinking about the meat and dairy products that is possibly being produced from those grazers!Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131045777276466737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post-36282683385524563902011-08-29T11:27:31.286-07:002011-08-29T11:27:31.286-07:00Herbicides associated with "aminopyralid"...Herbicides associated with "aminopyralid" or "clopyralid" seem to be the concern. I know the trade names around here I specifically have to watch out for are ones such as "Forefront" and "Milestone" but when you begin researching this you find out just how many trade/brand names seem to proliferate once a new key ingredient is developed in the lab. I'm being just quick and dirty here and not perfectly precise. Here's a couple of good, quick extension service links: <br /><br />http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/aminopyralid/<br /><br />http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0714.html<br /><br />And another: <br /><br />http://www.motherearthnews.com/Grow-It/Milestone-Herbicide-Contamination-Creates-Dangerous-Toxic-Compost.aspxMarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131045777276466737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post-4304968274629660082011-08-28T18:38:15.623-07:002011-08-28T18:38:15.623-07:00That is such a bummer! I hope that it is a tempor...That is such a bummer! I hope that it is a temporary problem. Do you know what the weed killer was, and what its half life is? Hoping that this is a one-year problem, at least superficially. My farm was conventional through the 2001 corn season, and I worry about what residual s**t is still in the soil.The Accidental Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09939230112226415887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6716575788727832662.post-83622851280838824832011-08-28T06:53:35.385-07:002011-08-28T06:53:35.385-07:00Based upon the problems we're having over here...Based upon the problems we're having over here in western Montana with contamination from the new generation of herbicides, it is good to hear the organic standards are tightening-up regarding the use mulches. We've had several seasons of issues with local composts that were made using ruminant manures as feedstocks and the herbicides being used on some of the noxious weeds survive through the digestive tracts and even the composting process and then contaminate the gardens to which the finished compost is added. Not being mindful enough of this on-going issue, I used more than 80 bales of spoiled hay to mulch areas I'm converting to garden last year. This year, a plot where I planted sunflowers has a few plants that are showing the tell-tale signs of that herbicide contamination. I know that any composts I used on that soil were "clean" because I did a bio-assay test on them. So it can only be from the hay I used to mulch that particular spot that would have introduced the herbicide to the soil. The chemical producers' products are only becoming more dastardly. As you would write Susie, sigh...Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131045777276466737noreply@blogger.com