Organic or not?

[Bigmallly]

It's ok.........water of a Gorillas back.............

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Interesting read.

Personally I try not to use anything and thankfully have managed not to in the few years I have been growing.

I suppose the way I look at it is;

I cannot guarantee what has or has not been done to the fruit and veg I buy.

I can control what I do to the fruit and veg I grow and to that end, my choice is to not use any chemicals at all.

Yes, this means that I have to pull up weeds, yes this means that I am a slug murderer, yes I get minging fingers when I have to squeeze aphids etc.. and yes I do have to share my produce with pests more often than I would like. But, I am safe in the knowledge that my produce is as free of anything additional as it can be.

I know that not everyone is able bodied and I can understand the temptation under pressing circumstances. But, as a few people have pointed out, there are ways to suppress and prevent weed growth and (from personal experience) I know that less able bodied people can manage to grow produce without resorting to chemicals.

It comes down to choice/preference.

One thing that this thread has reminded me - I have a lot of weeds to deal with .

[Sheneval]

I too use no chemicals and generally weed on my hands and knees as it saves my back, although I also use a draw hoe if only day to day weed clearance is needed - this year I cleared the aphids from the broad beans with my fingers - it only took a few minutes and my plot was generally pest free. We get more bother from mice and rabbits here with a little from slugs.

My adjacent fellow plot holders do not use chemicals either and only a few use roundup on paths and even less on their plots - from the internet, the evidence of this chemical causing damage to humans seems quite strong in a number of trials and I would hate to take over a plot where it had been used by previous tenant.

[Alison]

As a child in the '70s I used to go to my grandad's lottie and remember him saying that using chemicals to kill bugs upset the natural order and left a gap that will be filled by whatever is left. This may well lead to more chemical use. I have some control on my plot but done on those around me which is a shame as if we all do things differently it will have implications to the natural order. That said, occasional use won't make much difference. To be honest, I am quite lazy and getting the wildlife balanced saves me work as spraying looks very time consuming and if you keep on top of it weeding isn't that bad.

[Bill HH]

As I said before it is a case of each gardener choosing their own methods, if as Zazen says if your neighbour sprays it could kill your plants then I think you would have grounds to take them to the small claims court. That is your right as it their right to spray responsibly. I spray my roses to killl black spot, they would die if i didnt. I dont spray any vegetables as i might die if i did. I occasionaly use round up on paths because if i dont the weeds take over and my health prevents me from doing to much. My choice. I am lucky to have a walled garden so I dont need to worry about spraying neighbours anyway. So dont blame the spray blame the irrisponsible use, like dont blame the gun blame the person firing it.
As to the original question, I presume this is in an allotment situation and there is some form of committee, the only thing to be done is for them to approach this person and make sure he is aware of his responsibilities regarding spraying, maybe give him some literature on safe spraying and hope that he takes the advice in good grace.

[alldigging]

As to the original question, I presume this is in an allotment situation and there is some form of committee, the only thing to be done is for them to approach this person and make sure he is aware of his responsibilities regarding spraying, maybe give him some literature on safe spraying and hope that he takes the advice in good grace.

He's followed all guidelines we have - he's sprayed on a calm day and it's not gone anywhere else - just this other person doesn't want anyone weed killing next to him at all.

[Samurailord]

I don't think that you should be allowed to dictate how a plot neighbour runs their own plot, as long as what they are doing is not detrimental to yours.

After all, if you can ban their use of chemicals why stop there?

You could even ban no-dig beds and square foot gardening if you personally disagree with it!

If someone sprays weedkiller on their plot, making sure it is a calm day and the spray head is kept low to the ground I can't see a problem.

If they are spraying a path bordering both plots then perhaps a three inch 'buffer' should be left unsprayed next to the non-spraying plot to make doubly sure that no chemicals drift over. The non-chemicl using neighbouir should take responsibility for that section if they dont want it spraying.

Alternatively, the non-spraying neighbour should maintain the whole path to such an extent that the spraying neighbour has no need to spray at all.

If a plot neighbour's action (or inaction) is causing you problems then you should approach your neighbour in the first instance and discuss the problem (they may not even be aware that it is causing you grief) or if they are absent or not wanting to discuss things you should ask your committee to try and get a resolution on your behalf.

Such things would include spraying on windy days or allowing sprays to go on your plot, allowing weeds to grow and self-seed, growing trees very close to the borders (which will take water and cast shade) erecting structures that will shade your plot, allowing plants on the boundary to overgrow the shared path making access difficult and a miriad of other things.

Andy

[Thelma Sanders]

He's followed all guidelines we have - he's sprayed on a calm day and it's not gone anywhere else - just this other person doesn't want anyone weed killing next to him at all.

Then tough! IMO - if his plot isn't damaged then he should mind his own business.