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| Its that time of year again, leaves are falling and people are setting bags of good, or maybe bad, stuff next to the road!
I have been picking them up on and off for years. I don't compost it, just layer it on my garden over the winter. I got to thinking, the really great looking lawns probably have herbicides on the grass. And most folks just use their mower with a bagger, some have vacuum attachments. Will the herbicides be gone by spring? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Your concern is the reason that I only use leaf and turf debris from my own yard. Who knows what stuff people and their lawn services have used to create monocultures on turf? Hey, don't get me wrong - those that prevent wasted OM going to the landfill get my applause. I look back to the thread, "New Compost Walkin' Strategy - Epic Fail today" and am glad that others are willing to take the chance. I guess it depends on where you are and the regulations on turf care. But I am reminded of the mistakes made on the effects of Clopyralid and its cousins. Maybe a lot of chems biodegrade in the pile but until they are tested and proven, I'll stick to my 99%+ pesticide free OM for compost. hortster |
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| An article in the Oct/Nov 2011 issue of Organic Gardening magazine addresses this issue. The herbicides in the pyridine family of very persistant hebicides that last for many years and are very potent. Most of those are Restricted Use Pesticides that require application by Licensed Pesticide Applicators, many of whom never tell the property owner what is being applied in violation of the laws. |
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| "I have been picking them up on and off for years. I don't compost it, just layer it on my garden over the winter." Have you noticed any difference in your garden over the years? I would suspect that there are some traces of herbicides in some yard trimmings. Whether to use OPBL/OPBLC is up to each individual. Personally, I'd have more issues with manures or commercial sources and I don't sweat the materials from residences. Lloyd |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 12:07
| If your garden is growing fine, you don't have a problem. That said, it is a good idea to know where your stuff is coming from. Leaves I wouldn't worry about, since trees are hardly ever sprayed in the first place. I'm a lot more careful picking up grass than I used to be because of the herbicides kimmsr refers to. |
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| Knock on wood ! I have been using them for years too. I have had no problem. The manures are okay too. I have my soil tested about once every three years & the test do not show any build up of anything man made. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Tue, Oct 25, 11 at 18:46
| Sounds great. On the topic of soil tests, a standard soil test for nutrients, pH, organic matter etc. will not detect pesticides of any kind. That requires special and much more expensive tests. Not that you need to do that, but you just can't assume that regular 'soil tests' are going to see it. |
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| If you have soil tested for pesticides, you must name the pesticide(s) you are looking for. As for potential contamination of grass clippings and manures, review info here: If you suspect damage, or want to test for potential residues from the above, read and follow the directions for a bioassay in the above link. |
Here is a link that might be useful: herbicide contamination
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| I pick up many bags of leaves, old straw and hay, and grass clippings, as well as finished compost from the town compost site. Honestly I don't worry much about residues. The compost has aged about 3 years, and figure that rain has leached out any residues. As toxcrusader said, I don't worry at all about leaves, as they are very unlikely to be sprayed. As for the grass clippings, well the people who dump clippings at the compost site mow their own lawns - and if they use chemicals on the lawn, they are not using restricted chemicals. I was concerned about the old hay I picked up this summer, because of clopyralid, so I spread a small amount on some of the fast growing annuals at first, and watched them for a couple weeks. They were fine. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Oct 26, 11 at 13:28
| Not to put too fine a point on it, but I have a lot of neighbors who do their own mowing but have ChemLawn or someone else spray their lawns. Your system seems to be working so I'm not trying to make it into a debate. :-] |
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| Yes it's possible! But not very likely. This town is affluent, many people use landscaping services for all the yard work. And what are the odds if a homeowner did use a company to spray, that it was right before they mowed the lawn, and then dumped the clippings at the compost site? To be safe, I don't use the grass clippings as mulch in the veggie garden. Tend to use them in creating lasagne beds, and to rot out stumps. Those persistent herbicides sound like bad news though. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Oct 26, 11 at 17:35
| I have done much the same terrene, haven't used grass clippings as mulch directly for years, but I was using a lot in my compost bins up until a couple years ago. Then I heard about this crap that doesn't break down, so I'm even worried about composting them now. Fortunately I don't have time to do curb thieving and industrial scale composting like I used to, so it's a moot point. |
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| When you have more than enough of your own, why worry about it? Like I said, more power to those that prevent stuff from going to the landfill. I'm doing the same thing, preventing mine from being wasted but knowing what I have. Those that have greater need, again, more power to ya's. hortster |
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| True, Toxcrusadr & jean001a. The best test is on fresh picked fruit & it is expensive also. This test is better at telling you what you are eating. My wife has worked in a lab for over 20 years. So I let her tell me what test to ask for. |
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