On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 9:23 AM, Lauren Whitaker <[email protected]>wrote:
> ... > How do gardens that are organic-only enforce the policy? > >> > I've joined several gardens that are organic-only. It's not exactly "enforced." New gardeners are informed that it's organic-only, and the contract that's signed has a sentence or paragraph about that, usually stated in general terms. But in practice, people do what they want. I've seen one gardener using the blue stuff. I think a lot of the older gardeners interpret "organic" to mean no pesticides and don't think it includes ferts. Still, the very first time I went to a garden with the coordinator to choose a plot, we encountered one of the longtime gardeners inside the gate, using metaldehyde snail bait (she was tending the perennial border, not food, so perhaps she thought the organic guideline did not apply?)! The coordinator either didn't notice or chose not to notice. Some of the older plots still have arsenic-treated wood as borders. In fact, the plot next to me does, and when it changed hands 4-5 years ago, the coordinator mentioned that the new plot holder would remove it, but it's changed hands a couple more times since, and it's still there. One of the first things I did when I got my plot was to remove all the arsenic-treated poles -- they're all over the garden. The only enforcement is if other gardeners notice. At all the gardens I've participated in, usually no one else is around, so unless someone left containers or bags of not-organic stuff lying around, no one would know what they were using. The other aspect is that some gardeners interpret the organic-only guideline to mean that seeds should be organically grown, and transplants should be organically grown. That interpretation falls within the letter of the law, but I think most people fall within the spirit of the law and are not rigid about the source of their seeds and transplants. Perhaps at the Beltsville garden, the gardeners could have a conversation about what specific things the IPM contingent wants to use, and perhaps allow a short list, and the organic contingent can propose organic alternatives. Or, better, have a half-day conference where experts from both sides present their case. Or a panel discussion that gets down to specifics. The Slippery Slope Conference. I can imagine an IPM proponent wanting to paint Roundup on a specific weed or shrub, and then some less-knowledgeable person seeing Roundup on the allowed list and spraying it willy-nilly on a windy day. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20131014/fd17fee6/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
