organic myth??

[plotman]

Ive just had an interesting conversation with someone passing my allotment. I was laying some enviromest to protect my onions later on and i was asked why. I said it was in preference to spraying. Im not a member of the fashoinable organic paronoids but rather choose to concider moderation in all fields. As my mother said a little of most things are harmless and easilys dealt with by this wonderful body nature has given us all. But i do keep chemicals to an absolute minimum.
So why do use water out of the tap to water yr plants he asked and then went on to list a dozen chemicals in tap water including chlorine, alluminium etc.. Hmmmmmm Well i dont unless i have to i replied, by which he replys that doesnt qualify. Produce watered by mains water is far from organic.
I must admit i feel he is right, Over to you guys

[Two_Sheds]

My philosophy is to minimise the use of synthetic chemicals, where a natural alternative exists.

I'm not going to start drinking butt water, that's for sure.

[chrispy]

I would imagine that even rain water picks up a certain amount of chemicals just from the atmosphere ( acid rain ) how far do you go???

I use the rain water thats in my rain butt, and when thats gone its over to the tap.

what more can you do?

[womble]

Well if you watered with tap water and then sprayed chemicals on your onions, (not really sure why you need enviromesh on them tbh?) then you would be getting two lots of chemicals and not one, surely much better to lose one lot of chemicals? Otherwise we might as well go back to putting whatever we like on our food.
Organic isn't totally free of chemicals, the plan is to minimise them, like TS says.

I often leave a watering can full of water to get to a good temp in the greenhouse, I believe the chlorine evaporates at the same time.

I don't get his attitude, you weren't preaching about organics, you were trying to cut down on something, surely sensible? He sounds like the organic basher you meet every now and again, hating it for the sake of it, without really understanding it.

[Sweepster]

If the silly prat had started that with me, he'd have got one of my onions rammed up his (water) butt

[SarzWix]

Plotman didn't say he'd sprayed his onions Womble, he said the enviromesh was preferable to spraying...

I don't use tap water on my veggies, because we don't have any at the allotment, just a lot of water butts. But if I drink tap water, why wouldn't I use it on the stuff I'm going to eat?! Seems like a very silly comment to me, from someone who wanted to provoke a reaction. The use of enviromesh & hoticultural fleece could trigger a discussion on the methods used to produce it maybe, but to start wittering on about tap water . I'd have been very tempted to suggest he 'go forth and multiply'...

[coreopsis]

That's YOU who's growing the veg,YOU caring for them and YOU eating them at the end.
One of the reasons for me to grow my own veg is to have them growing without synthetic chemicals-I'd rather water toms with pongy comfrey and nettle tea than use some most"organic"(as it says on the bottle)liquid tomato food.My choice and my business.I want to have my veg tasting as they should.

[Eco-Chic]

What a pity Plotman didn't tell the chap that he only waters his veg with Evian stored at room temperature

[womble]

Plotman didn't say he'd sprayed his onions Womble, he said the enviromesh was preferable to spraying...

Badly worded comments by myself, I have rewritten it, so everyone can now understand what was in my head when I wrote it.

[SarzWix]

Oh, I see Well, if you have problems with onion fly, enviromesh can keep them out. I think there may a moth which lays on onions too?

[womble]

Just had a look in my HDRA organic encyclopedia and it doesn't really say anything about tap water being a problem or containing anything bad, apart from chlorine. Which it says may damage your soils microbe population and harm sensitive plants.
Leaving it sitting out in a watering can, to lose the chlorine as I said above will deal with that.

[womble]

Oh, I see Well, if you have problems with onion fly, enviromesh can keep them out. I think there may a moth which lays on onions too?

Yes didn't think of that, because I've never seen it. You must be talking about the new allium leaf minor I think. Just praying that it doesn't get here. The enviromesh for the brassicas cost me enough thanks, I don't want to have to buy it for the allium beds as well

[SarzWix]

No, we don't seem to have it round here, thank goodness! I put it over the onion bed just until my onions put on enough root growth that the birds can't/don't pull them up, then it goes over the brassica bed. I bought another piece to put round & over the carrot bed this year, I am determined to have some edible carrots this year!

[smallblueplanet]

...So why do use water out of the tap to water yr plants he asked and then went on to list a dozen chemicals in tap water including chlorine, alluminium etc..

What real option do we have?

There are plenty of folk out there who campaign to stop water compainies fluoridating water, so I imagine there are other groups keeping an eye on what else water companies add to our water?

[Fluorescent green]

Hi

If your question was about using chemicals, then I do not use them, most of the time.
Not because the chemicals stay on the veg, but because those chemicals have to be manufactured somewhere.

I would not live next to a chemical plant, and I dont think that anyone should have to work in one either.

It just takes more brains to combat pests without chemicals; thats why I am struggleing a little, lol.

My cat prefers rain water, I think it would be better for us all.

FG