Organic Gardening Threat

[Meadowlark]

A recent study has determined that pesticide use actually increases for neighbors of organic farms. Apparently, the pests are starving at the organic farms and flock to the conventional farms for sustenance...kind of like Californians flocking to Texas , but I digress.

Some are using this find as a way to criticize organic farming rather than seeing the obvious message that those neighbors and others should also consider going organic.

MSN

 

[redback]

More organic farms with more natural predators than ever before. The old fashion chemical-based monoculture farming practices are setting themselves up as targets. The pests get an easy living in acres of feeding free of predators.
Now governments realize that pests mutate quicker than poisons for them can be developed. They are developing natural controls such as breeding and releasing millions of predators. Once they release predators in a district, they send out notices to stop neighbors using poisons.
To be fair most small farmers are partially organic already and are using rotation, cover crops and green manure crops as though they had thought of the idea themselves. They hate paying exorbitant prices for the chemical inputs and they hate dressing up in protective gear to spray poison on their land. Like you say, the only reasonable path is organic/naturally.
Great topic

 

[Tundra20]

I have read that as well sad part is alot of people don't realize i guess or don't care all those pesticides eventually make ther way into their bodies
Growing food is work but satisfying anything that is a quick fix is just patching the problem

 

[redback]

You might be asking why do sprays killed the predators and not the pests? Sprays actually kill both but pests are far more numerous, smaller and more resilient than the fewer, bigger predators. Pests can hatch in millions overnight. It is recommended to spray every three days.
There are hundreds of different types of mite and they hatch at different times. Their predators, say lacewings, hatch early and live as pupae on site until they evolve into bigger (3") flying insects. Those longer lived predators are killed by the first round of spray. Meanwhile the strongest of the mites survive the first spray and breed up stronger babies.
Something like that anyway. The result is a 'Silent Spring' as in Rachael Ward's book about the San Joaquin valley.

 

[Tetters]

A recent study has determined that pesticide use actually increases for neighbors of organic farms. Apparently, the pests are starving at the organic farms and flock to the conventional farms for sustenance...kind of like Californians flocking to Texas , but I digress.

Some are using this find as a way to criticize organic farming rather than seeing the obvious message that those neighbors and others should also consider going organic.

MSN

I'm afraid there are quite a lot of people who are simply too thick to even want to learn. Ah well, never mind aye.

 

[Owdboggy]

You may take whore to Goethe, but you can't make her think. As the paraphrased saying goes. Some people are totally incapable of rational thought. Sad!

 

[redback]

There is the question of spray drift from chemical farms over the fence onto organic farms. I'm a victim of this smelly intrusion when the broadacre farmer, across the road, starts his mite spray routine. Why does he spray on days when the wind is from the south? I can't light my bonfire on days when the wind blows the smoke over the neighbor's clothesline.
We are all compromised and fortunately nature is resilient. In truth the spray drift gets stopped by trees before it gets to the vegetable garden, and his proudly manicured pastures do enhance the view of the valley and hills to the south.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I heard the same report being reported on? Just writing that hurts, maybe we should read the actual report or paper. Anyway.

Conventional next to organic use more -cides than conventional around conventional.

There's another slice to this organic adoption you have to think about. Who is selling more products to be used for organic and would profit? The ag chem is so entrenched now with generations of farmers using it and with generations of ag-academics. The ego of academics all but stops them from admitting what has been preached for years is wrong. The ultimate logical step in how we're using oil and gas to produce fertilizers and death-cocktails to grow food in dead sand and silt is just put a straw in a barrel of oil and direct consume that crude.

 

[redback]

The ego of academics all but stops them from admitting what has been preached for years is wrong.

Yes - and the farmers themselves are old and don't feel comfortable about changing their farming methods in old age.
Both of them are wiped by the facts. Dr. Jeff White has photographs of microbes feeding off the roots of plants and then being consumed by the root and spat out after being stripped of their nutrients. Those microbes in the soil are the same microbes digesting your food in your gut. Both doctors and soil scientists have established that herbicides and pesticides are killing those microbes.
Goodbye chemical farming. The future of medicine is likewise changed forever.

 

[big rockpile]

More organic farms with more natural predators than ever before. The old fashion chemical-based monoculture farming practices are setting themselves up as targets. The pests get an easy living in acres of feeding free of predators.
Now governments realize that pests mutate quicker than poisons for them can be developed. They are developing natural controls such as breeding and releasing millions of predators. Once they release predators in a district, they send out notices to stop neighbors using poisons.
To be fair most small farmers are partially organic already and are using rotation, cover crops and green manure crops as though they had thought of the idea themselves. They hate paying exorbitant prices for the chemical inputs and they hate dressing up in protective gear to spray poison on their land. Like you say, the only reasonable path is organic/naturally.
Great topic

Tòo much work being Organic. My Grandfather did it this way and I'll be dang if I'm going to change.

Just what I'm hearing.

big rockpile

 

[big rockpile]

There is the question of spray drift from chemical farms over the fence onto organic farms. I'm a victim of this smelly intrusion when the broadacre farmer, across the road, starts his mite spray routine. Why does he spray on days when the wind is from the south? I can't light my bonfire on days when the wind blows the smoke over the neighbor's clothesline.
We are all compromised and fortunately nature is resilient. In truth the spray drift gets stopped by trees before it gets to the vegetable garden, and his proudly manicured pastures do enhance the view of the valley and hills to the south.

I have been along the South Border. It is different as night and day.

You can literally see the air coming North.

We have no control of it but we still pay the price.

big rockpile

 

[redback]

Tòo much work being Organic. My Grandfather did it this way and I'll be dang if I'm going to change.

Your grandfather would have been organic - or close to it.

 

[big rockpile]

Your grandfather would have been organic - or close to it.

True I know when he had Trap Line he would bury critters in the garden.

At the time I was Farming and used synthetic Fertilizer and there was No Till at the time.

big rockpile

 

[Mystic Moon Tree]

I garden entirely organically & do not have the problems all these big corporate, or oldschool monoculture farms do. If I have pests I just release something like ladybugs & preying mantis, or spray with a homemade herbal & essential oil folliars spray. If I need soil nutrients because something's depleted we just plant a pioneer, covercrop, or companion plant or amend the soil with a natural substance. My garden thrives. Chemicals wipe out everything & destroy ecosystems. They are toxic to us and everything else. The least natural thing I use in gardening is some dawn soap to help kill powdery mildew. I think the only need still for modern chemical solutions are with chitinous hard shelled pests like mites, lice, fleas & ticks, but there are natural solutions to these outbreaks too. They just take more patience & a bit more input and work to get them cycling sustainably. Fast food gardening is what those people do & its killing us and the Earth.