Gardening with Wally Richards: Herbicide damage

I am very concerned about the number of gardeners that have asked me why their tomatoes/beans/potatoes are growing funny this season.

When we say ‘funny’ we are referring to distorted or rolled leaves, new growth that is misshaped, beans that come up and die off and feather like foliage. These aspects are related to mainly tomatoes, potatoes, beans, grapes and roses.

The pictures that I have asked to be sent to me have all indicated herbicide damage.

Usually other plants in the same area appear to be unaffected which indicates that the amount of herbicide is very small at parts per million. Stronger amounts would kill the herbicide sensitive plants (tomatoes etc) and likely have shown as die back in other plants including weeds.

Where did the herbicide come from?

The first thought is from the spraying of weedkillers somewhere in the neighbourhood.

If someone nearby has sprayed on a day when spray drift can be carried by the wind then that is a possibility.

If someone has sprayed on a calm day within a few miles of your property then that could be the cause.

What can happen on a calm day is the minute droplets of spray are lifted on conventional air currents up into the air, from there, they are carried by air currents for any distance before dumping, maybe on your tomatoes.

The worst times for anyone to be spraying herbicides is on a windy or calm day.

The best time is on a day when there is a light breeze and the person spraying can direct the spray to target plants only.

Placing a shield over the nozzle of the sprayer is recommended to prevent any drift or uplift of the chemicals into the air.

You can make a shield very simply by taking the nozzle off the end of your spray wand, then making a hole in the middle of a plastic 2 litre ice cream container to fit nicely over the end of your sprayer’s nozzle, after which you screw the nozzle surround back on.

Most effective and all you need to do is place the ice cream container over the target weeds and pull the trigger. All the chemical spray stays inside the container.

Then move to the next weeds making sure you don’t drip herbicide on preferred plants.

If you are not using a shield then make sure your nozzle on your sprayer is not producing a mist, instead make sure it is producing heavy droplets by adjusting it.

You can always use a food dye in the mix to determine where your sprays are going.

Unfortunately you have very little control as to what other people are doing around you and your gardens are always at risk from airborne sprays.

If you know that a neighbour is spraying weed killers then the best thing to do is to apply good amounts of water to the foliage of your herbicide sensitive plants with the hose and water other plants as well.

By diluting any air borne chemical that may land on your plants will reduce the potential problem.

Every now and then I hear about gardeners who has sprayed their roses or gardens with a sprayer that has either a herbicide in the sprayer or has been used in the past for weed killing.

Herbicides are fairly good keepers and if you don’t use all the made up product there is a great temptation to leave it in the sprayer for next time. This is ok if you mark in bold letters on the sprayer, WEED KILLERS ONLY.

Have a separate sprayer for other sprays that are not weed killers.

Even if you are money conscious and wash out a plastic sprayer that has had a weed killer in it, there is a very good chance that you will damage roses, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes and beans if you use that sprayer on these plants.

This happens because the plastic is porous and it holds onto some of the herbicide which is very difficult to wash out completely, but can release out with other spray mixes.

Be safe, not sorry, as it costs a lot more to replace plants than buy a second sprayer.

So we have looked at the possibility of airborne sprays from our surrounds and our own sprayers yet there is a more devious way of harming your sensitive plants.

The first time I came across another herbicide problem was many years ago when a fertiliser drive to raise funds sold sheep manure to local gardeners.

The gardeners placed the manure around their roses and other plants and then over the next few weeks the roses and other sensitive plants curled up their toes and died.

What happened was this: a farmer had sprayed his paddocks with a herbicide to kill gorse/thistles etc and one which does not harm grass. The sheep came along a little later and ate the grass prior to going the the shearing shed.

The manure collect from the shed was full of herbicide.

A more common way is any herbicide used on the lawn to kill various weeds, the lawn is mowed and the clippings are taken to the dump at a cost or to a green waste recycling centre.

At the recycling plant they have no idea if there is a herbicide in the lawn clippings or not.

The herbicides available both to the home garden market and commercially can have a residue for very long periods which is about 6 months or more, not just a few mowing’s.

From what I can gather it can be as long as 18 months with the composting material been turned several times during that time, before it is safe to use.

Thus if you are making your own compost don’t place any lawn clippings in it that have been sprayed with a herbicide. The best solution for those clippings is to place them under well established trees and shrubs where no other plants are growing.

I have recently heard of several instances where purchased composted, vegetable compost and organic compost have been used in gardens and the sensitive plants such as tomatoes and beans have displayed damage.

Some of these purchased composts have been brand names which is really bad news.

I have used two makes of compost in recent times which come from Daltons and Oderings all of which have been ok.

There is a problem because of the large amount of composts been made and sold, is that you could get a bag that has herbicide residue in it where another is 100% ok.

The test if you are going to place around or plant sensitive plants into a purchased compost is to place a few bean seeds into the compost. If they come up ok you know there is not a problem.

If they don’t then take the bag back to where you got it from and complain.

Placing any herbicide residue compost around non-sensitive plants is not usually be a problem.

In the last year or two I have found some pea straw used as a mulch contained herbicides.

I think the commercial pea growers which sell pea straw want the plants to dry out quicker after harvesting the peas so they spray with Roundup to facilitate fast drying.

Not good.

But some interesting news with Trump becoming President and that is; Robert Kennedy Jnr has been given free reins to improve the health of the American people.

Here is what Kennedy has said.. FDA’s (The United States Food and Drug Administration) war on public health is about to end.

This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.

“If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags…..”

The top five CEOs of pharmaceutical companies held an emergency teleconference at 1PM. on the 7th Of November.

A lawyer has confirmed that everyone is in a state of Panic!

Kennedy has also stated that he will stop the fluoridation of water supplies in America plus the pollution of the skies with what is called Chem Trails.

In another statement he is going to call for a halt on producing more vaccines and make them accountable for the harm they do, (which is an incredible cash cow for Big Pharma) and have the pharmaceutical companies focus on the “current chronic disease epidemic”.

My thoughts are he is referring to obesity of which seed oils and chemicals in our food chain are contributing to.

Hopefully these changes in America will also make sensible changes in NZ.

Image credit: Freddie Collins

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