Growing up, my grandparents kept a garden - it WAS the 70's after-all, nearly EVERYONE had backyard gardens back then. I remember many an afternoon on my knees next to my Besta-Mor (Danish for Grandma) in their huge garden digging in the cool, black soil, learning and bonding. Among many other things there were cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, watermelons, and strawberries... Oh the strawberries!! I think I ate more than I put in the bowl. We did that back then... we ate stuff right out of the garden... without washing it first.
In today's day and age, you can't do that. There is a lot of controversy about
pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides being used in our environments.
The names of certain companies are notorious and the acronym "GMO" can
raise the neck-hairs of many conservationists. Many consumers will pay
higher prices (in some cases nearly double) for products that have
"organic" or "non-GMO" on their labels. As a horticulture major, this
is an every day concern.
But why?
What
is all the hoopla about? Well, it is much of it is driven by a very real
concern... sustainability. Our natural resources are being erased by ecological footprints like oil spills, soil contamination, and air pollution. In the last few years, chemical applications
to our food sources have been linked to everything from cancers to
ADHD. But I also have learned there are often two sides to every
story. I question, how much of the media frenzy is real and how much is fired up by people who want to step "off the grid". In an effort to learn more, I have accepted a position and have
been contracted by the "Weekend Warrior Program" driven by Bayer
Advanced, one of the nation's leading providers of lawn and garden
products.
Here's my thought process.....
As a grown woman, I have several gardens and dozens of indoor plants. I grow flowers in full sun. I grow flowers in shade. I grow all kinds of vegetables and herbs, and I even have several fruit trees. My favorite is a yellow "Peace" rose. I have carried that with us through five moves over an eight year period. I dedicate a lot of time to growing things for beauty and for healthy living.
I also have a husband (aka Hubsy), three dogs, a parrot, and eight chickens.
So I have concerns. Of course, I want NOTHING to harm my loved ones. Even those blasted chickens bring me joy and companionship (with the added benefit of eggs & fertilizer). But I also want my hard work to produce something more than fodder for the compost pile. I want to support sustainability because I know that bees are as essential to make my gardens grow as are water and sunlight. I don't want my ecological footprint to erase more and more of our beautiful and limited resources. But I want to grow a tomato that grows up to be big and juicy and bright red - hard to do when there are bugs galore that want to eat my tomato... even if it is small and green.
Speaking of green... I adore a yard with lush green grass. It just looks beautiful. Or my beautiful Peace rose. As I mentioned, it's my favorite. Hubsy bought that for me as a wedding gift just days before he deployed for Afghanistan. Fitting, don't you think? It was a beacon of hope for me. I cried tears of joy when the first, gloriously fragrant, breath-taking yellow & pink flower opened! It was spectacular. Then after six years and moves from Louisiana to Alabama to south central Texas, one morning I woke up and there were no leaves on it. All of the flower petals littered the deck. It was sticks with thorns. I noticed the leaves had a powdery white coating. Powdery Mildew. The heart of Texas was too humid for my precious plant. I was devastated. My mother-in-law, praise her sweet southern heart, recommended "the blue bottle". In comes Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 systemic Rose & Flower Care. Six weeks later, my rose had begun to put on leaves again. After just a few months, I had big beautiful rose on it again. And my acceptance of chemical treatments shifted a little and brings me to my journey with Bayer. Stick around to hear more.....
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