On 25/08/2011 22:56, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote ...

"Bob Hobden" wrote:

"David WE Roberts" wrote ...
[...]
Any sign of the dreaded blight yet?
That is what normally finishes off my outdoor tomatoes.


Yes, blight is alive and well on our allotment site. Quite a few of
the"new"
gardeners have lost their whole crop as most won't spray with anything
chemical. Ours are OK, sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture twice so far and we
grow blight resistant varieties only anyway.

Should somebody tell these enthusiasts that Bordeaux mixture is
approved for organic crops? Or am I wrong?


I would not dream of telling them anything, however I have tried to
persuade them that it is the only way these days to get a crop outside
but to no avail, it's chemical and therefor bad and they would rather
lose a crop than use such an evil thing.

Tell them that everything is made of chemicals! Including humans!!

Of the more interesting salad vegetables lettuce breaks the rule that if
its sap is milky latex then it isn't safe to eat. And you should warn
them that all parts of the tomato plant and potato plant that are not
the fruit or tubers are *TOXIC*. Solanaceae is pretty unforgiving if you
eat the wrong bits because of all the *CHEMICALS* in them.

Similar problem with bindweed, despite it gradually taking over some
plots the "new" gardeners refuse to spray it with Glyphosate, against
their principles they say, I suppose it will be left to the person that
takes over once they give up after they have made it impossible to
garden for themselves.

Arm yourself with the MSDS for caffeine and glyphosate and explain to
them that whilst they may be terrified by "all chemicals" some are a lot
more dangerous than others. Glyphosate is incredibly benign in animals
considering how lethal it is to green plants. The wetting agent in
commercial formulations is the actual risk to health - although to be
injured you practically have to eat sandwiches soaked in the
agricultural grade concentrate (some prats in the USA did).

Rant over.

I understand your frustration. Organic (TM) produce is over packaged
overpriced extremely high margin supermarket food for the worried well.

Minimum inputs is the rational choice for any allotment gardener and for
agriculture too. There is no point in wearing a hair shirt just to
satisfy the GM pundits at the Henry Doublespeak association.

Regards,
Martin Brown