What commercial crops are the most sprayed or treated

[Rose willow]

I don’t even know why I am asking this as my new plot is so far off being in a state to be planted.lol

but this first year I thought I would grow those crops which I eat which commercially are the most sprayed by various chemicals to give me a start on what to grow. I could grow potatoes to break up the 8 year old soil that no one has grown on but potatoes are relatively cheap to buy. Same goes for onions. Obviously salad crops must be high on the list of sprayed veg but I might be completely wrong. So if anyone knows that would be great or can suggest sites that may help

[Compostman2]

Cannot help with your specific question but allotment growing for me is to grow the food I eat so I know there are not had any chemicals added rather than cost.

Yes spuds/onions are cheaper in the farm shop but mine taste better.

[Snoop Puss]

It's probably easier to Google for which crops are least sprayed rather than the other way around. I've just tried this and there are lots of interesting hits. Here's one leaflet from the States that lists what it calls the "dirty dozen", which does indeed included lettuce but also potatoes: https://depts.washington.edu/ceeh/do...Pesticides.pdf

But I'm a bit like compostman2. The things I grow have fewer chemical products sprayed on them, and mostly none, but if I think about the main reasons why I grow food, they are: 1) Everything tastes better straight after being picked; 2) I love doing it; 3) It's convenient, as my veg patch is at home and the shops are 20 mins or so away (this factor has become especially important at the moment due to Covid); 4) Vitamin and mineral content is higher straight after picking

So food value comes last and pleasure comes first!

[Nicos]

Interesting link there Snoop.
I knew about grapes and lettuce , but the others were an eye opener.

[burnie]

I've never eaten sweet peas before??

[Nicos]

Poisonous!...I think maybe it’s American foreithet mangetout or baby petit pois?

[nick the grief]

Malcolm Hocking (Eggleston Gardens) used to work at Rothamstead Research station and they bought some sprouts from a supermarket and impregnated them with aphids deliberatly and the residual pesticides still killed them ... Most commercial growers have a spray program so they are done on a set time unlike the amateur who would spray for greenfly on his roses when they got them so sadly the answer is, probably all of the crops especially as a lot is forced out of season now..

This is where GYO comes in ... you have the ability to choose what to eat when and what goes into ( or onto) them

[Jungle Jane]

I’d say brassica from what I’ve read before,they’re given permission at a certain time in growth to use a potent chemical. Potatoes from the shop can have about eight different residues of chemical treatment. When you eat fresh home grown,you’re getting more vitamins along with the superior taste & quality try to grow everything you usually buy

[ameno]

If you're worried about pesticides, etc. on shop-bought crops then how much the crop is sprayed is not the only thing you need to consider.
You also have to think about which part of the plant you eat. For example, root veg like potatoes or carrots grow underground, so the bit you eat is never directly exposed to any sprays.
You also have to consider that any fruit or veg which you always peel, like onions, peas (normal, not mangetout), or hearting cabbages and lettuces (where all of the outer leaves are removed) will usually have pretty low pesticide levels on the part you actually eat, too.

[Jungle Jane]

There’s a chart in this link that shows crops that’ve been tested & some found to exceed the maximum residue levels of pesticides allowed. Potatoes are sprayed with something that inhibits growth after harvest in storage,the residues are found on the actual potato etc
https://assets.publishing.service.go...eport-2017.pdf
edit - you can look further into it & find the names of all the chemicals & then look those up,it really does get you into GYO

[Rose willow]

Thanks everyone. I have so much to read up on. There’s me in my fluffy little world giving up animal produce as I was thinking about my health and have probably been ingesting more pesticides and god knows what from the plant I have chosen to eat. Ah well it can only get better once I start growing the stuff I like.

[Snoop Puss]

If you're worried about pesticides and herbicides, Rose Willow, buy organic bread or make your own with organic flour. Wheat is one of the worst for residues. Well worth checking out.

[Snadger]

Herbicides are used to clear ground before planting. So theoretically, any crop you eat could have been grown in treated soil unless it is grown organically.
Apparently this is quite legal, and farmers are allowed to do it. A field close to me is sprayed with Glyphosate before every crop. I walk my dog around the perimeter and if I see it being sprayed, I stay away for a month or so.

Only if you grow your own can you guarantee what has been used on the land. Grow tasty varieties of fruit and veg that you like to eat.

[ameno]

Apparently this is quite legal, and farmers are allowed to do it. A field close to me is sprayed with Glyphosate before every crop. I walk my dog around the perimeter and if I see it being sprayed, I stay away for a month or so.

Glyphosate residue in crops is one thing you mercifully don't have to worry about.
Glyphosate is too deadly to the plants themselves for mature crops to ever have any residue on them: if there were any left in the ground it would have killed the plant itself long before a crop is harvested from it.

[Jungle Jane]

Glyphosate is sprayed onto wheat,oats,beans & barley just before harvesting on mature crops to help dry it out so it’s uniformly ready. It’s found in many foods that’s why the FDA monitors glyphosate residues in & on food. It’s been detected in human urine,of course it is something to worry about if you care about yourself & others,glyphosate affects the bodies ability to absorb some minerals,giving some vitamin deficiencies & also food allergies.