which has sparked off a lot of interest in the poisons we spray onto crops to gain bigger and better yields for us humans and the big business that is the food chain.
I guess my question is, what do others think about this as an acceptable legacy we are leaving for future generations?
For what it is worth, I believe that we need to take responsibility and need to do our little bit to preserve what we have left and to live more humanely.
I truly believe that your last comment is the key John, it is easy to be dismissive that whatever we do as individuals is a drop in the ocean, but we are all responsable for the outcome and every single person needs to grasp this responsability.
I think you are absolutely right to watch what chemicals are used. We are unwittingly stumbling forward and not considering what we are doing to the oceans which is where a huge amount of our chemicals end up.
I am unsure of global warming because the heat must either come from the sun or underwater volcanoes but what is very worrying is the Co2 levels are reducing the pH of the oceans and they act as eco systems to keep the planet alive.
I was fortunate enough to meet up with Dr Howard Dryden a marine biologist who together with many others has theories on why the ocean is becoming more acidic and it's down to chemical waste from factories and what we are putting onto the land that is getting into rivers and then the sea.
If the plotted graphs of the acidification of the oceans follow their current path the fish will not survive as they are very sensitive to slight changes in water pH. This is likely within our lifetime.
We need to reduce our Co2 outputs as well as tackling cleaning and gardening chemicals. I posted on the pool forum because people run pool pumps for most of the day and they are power hungry devices. I have been doing a lot of work on Eco running of pools and it is not necessary to run these powerful pumps any more and the savings in electricity and therefore Co2 production are huge.
I used the calculator on a University web site so I need to double check the figures from another source but the results for my pool are 128kg of Co2 per year. A conventional pool setup 2056kg and a mono block type (Desjoyaux, Magiline, Waterair to name just 3) a colossal 4000kg.
And yes, I heard snails are territorial - last thing you want is a tired and hungry snail coming back… I have used the ash from the fire on the garden also but usually mixed into the compost. Think the most effective control I found was the frogs/birds (not sure how that will work with the cats though??? Will look into natural toothpastes. I have used one from India (was over there for 5 months last year) but seemed to turn teeth little brown -( it was a vegan paste though. Decheteie?
Thanks Lynn, thanks Elaine. Yes, I think decheterie might be good idea... we can't take the things back to shop because they are opened and used. I guess I will have to go down the torch and plastic bag route then :-)
By the way, on another similar topic, does anyone make their own homemade toothpaste?
There was an article on BBC breakfast the other day Elaine to say that snails are quite territorial and will find their way back! We use ash that is taken from our wood burner, sprinkled around the base of the plants usually works too.
In my experience beer and eggshells do slow things a little as does copper wire around raised beds(gives them a small shock) but I think you just have to get out there in the evening with a torch and plastic bag to pick the blighters up… We used to give my children 1p per snail when they were small until my son started going into the neighbours gardens…-). I think slug/snail management is long term where you need to develop strong plants (and back ups) rotate the planting to prevent pests building up and encourage natural predictors, hedgehogs, frogs, birds etc… It’s a long term plan. Regarding your purchases…I’d take them back to the store, I believe there are ‘organic’ pellets but I don’t trust them.
Finally got a proper moment to look in the Low Impact Living group. I think you already saw what I wrote on the Bunty posts about being worried about the planet and our health.
My naughty husband bought some weed spray and slug pellets but I want to get rid of them. How do I do this safely? How do I dispose of this stuff? Is it okay to use beer and egg shells on slugs or is that cruel?
Could not agree more Lynn, I have got in touch with my friend who lives in the tarn et Garonne region about how to register land as ‘bio’ (as a non farmer) and what organic groups/associations are already in place so we can protect our land from poisons.
Back in England I had an allotment and grew all my food organically using nettle and comfrey ‘tea’ as a feed for them and seaweed extract when I could get it. Snails/slugs were picked up and put in compost bin and aphids were sprayed with e cover and water mix (although I am sure there are other natural ways I’ve just not discovered them yet) also the frogs in my garden did a great job and were very entertaining creatures to watch. The only reasons we use these awful poisons is because we have forgotten how to grow without them and we have been fooled into thinking they will save us time and give us better veg when in fact they are slowly killing us and all we share our planet with. I feel very strongly Bout the use of these things… Caught my brother-in-law coming out of his garage with two sprays of round up hooked onto his pockets like a cowboy…lol…I went mad at him (poor guy) gave him the talk about the nasty things and the benefits of nettle etc etc… He’s not dared use them again (or at least while I’m around)