In today’s environmentally conscious world we have to ask how sustainable is the site? With over 40,000 plots and some 741 sites in London and some 300,000 plots across the UK the ability for allotments to raise the bar on environment is very real. This is of a series of opportunities to be covered over the coming days and hope that in doing so we stimulate discussion and maybe even action.
5. Chemicals
I am always amazed at the shelves of garden centres and the
vast array of containers of potions to treat this, enrich that and stop that.
Pictures of slugs, ants, aphids adorn the containers in technicolour on
containers all claiming to kill better than their rivals. Containers of undiluted
feed, powders or granules address, enrich all from making your grass greener to
making you tomatoes taste sweeter and more productive. What did we do before
these chemical companies targeted the consumer market with fear of failure?
Gardeners have always had their special brews and bags of Epsom
salts, lime, bone meal. I remember my grandad had his tub of stinky comfrey soup
he swore by and used to make me hold the can as he stained some off, not a good
experience to inspire a young gardener. He also had brown paper bags and tins
of stuff with handwritten signage and an array of spoons for measuring it out.
I do remember he did buy Growmore when it came out and went around like a
farmer sowing seeds as he scattered the granules on his beds. He mixed his own
concoctions and had a brass pump spray to deal with aphids and other
undesirables and his knife dealt with any slugs brave enough to venture into
his eyesight.
Today we also can buy nematodes, living soldiers, to fight
slugs and practically all other undesirables. Mix in water and apply to the soil
and the creatures come to life and go on the rampage killing your enemy for
you. The challenge is that these warriors only have a short shelf life and
after a few weeks you have to buy more and probably end up spending more on nematodes
than the value of the produce you are trying to protect.
Organic is the way forward comes the cry but what is urban
myth and what is effective? Take slugs. Do you use used coffee grounds, a beer
trap, broken egg shells, nutshells, seaweed, a grapefruit trap, petroleum
jelly, sheep wool fibre pellets, copper tape or filings or slug repellent plants?
Those old blue slug pellets containing metaldehyde have been
banned from sale from 1st April 2021 and outdoor use from 2022. How
many sites have proactively banned or decided on a animosity period to hand
them in and ban their use today? The pellets not only kill slugs but also poison
birds and hedgehogs and others who eat them. You can now only buy pellets
containing ferric phosphate. This may be less harmful and any uneaten pellets
will eventually break down into phosphate and iron which will then be taken up
as nutrients by surrounding plants. However, there remains the problem of the
other ingredients in the tablets - known as chelators. These chemicals help
bond the iron molecules and make them more toxic to the molluscs. Unfortunately,
these chemicals also affect earthworms.
Then the other problem we all face is weeds and we have products
such as Roundup and Weedol which contains glyphosate. These herbicides may also
contain a toxic mix and other chemicals such as arsenic, chromium, cobalt, lead
and nickel. However, glyphosate is the most widely and heavily used agrichemical worldwide, in agriculture, parks and amenities as
well as in gardens and allotments. The European Food Safety Independent
research indicates that glyphosate is safe. But this is highly contested and
many others point to the long term impact on humans (over 60% of wholemeal bread contains traces of glyphosate,
according to the Soil Association). The actual verdict may be out on glyphosate
but do you take action now or wait till there is a definite answer?
There are many alternative options to chemical herbicides but these
may involve a lot of hard work so to many it is a question of convenience over
work, to others it is chemical uncertainty versus the spade.
Today we have to turn the container over and read its components
but unlike food it is not easy to spot those which may be harmful to others who
live on the plot and long term ourselves. Should individuals, sites or authorities
take the lead on what should be used and what should be banned and will sites
enforce it?
There is a massive difference in size and scope between farms and
agricultural usage and the allotment but should farming economics lead the way
on the use of chemicals or should allotments opt for a safe and sustainable
plot?
Is it about waiting for certain products and ingredients to be banned or about proactively saying no?
