INDEPTH: PESTICIDES
Pesticide alternatives
CBC News Online | May 23, 2003
The move away from pesticides has been underway for many years. Organic gardening is growing in popularity with gardeners, and many of our municipal governments are choosing to reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides, opting instead for a concept called Integrated Pest Management
Some towns have gone further. Dozens of Canadian municipalities have instructed their parks departments to reduce the cosmetic use of pesticides on town property. And in Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality is trying to make history by becoming the first city to phase out all pesticides by 2005. The first phase of their ban went into effect on April 1, 2001.
| BUILDING A HEALTHY LAWN: |
From
Environment Canada
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The key to a weed and pest-free lawn is to build strength in your grass
- Overseed every year to create a dense lawn that will crowd out weeds
- Fertilize naturally with manure and compost
- Encourage good bugs: worms, lady bugs and spiders
- Mow less often. Keep grass 6 cm tall to crowd out weeds and grow longer roots
- When watering, allow the sprinkler to soak the grass, to build deep roots
- Rake out thatch to discourage pests
- Dig out any weeds by hand
- Learn to tolerate some weeds. Pesticides are not worth the health risks
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Gardeners will require written permission from neighbours in order to spray near their property line. The only exception would be during a severe insect infestation when no other options exist.
The landscapers at the lieutenant-governor's residence don't use chemicals; neither do the workers at the Children's Hospital. At the luscious public gardens, landscapers use only things they wouldn't be afraid to put on themselves: they make insecticidal sprays out of soap, garlic, and rhubarb and fertilize with manure and compost. (see recipes below)
In Windsor, the parks department is killing unwanted weeds along fences with a focused stream of hot steam. With this method and others, they've managed to cut their pesticide use by half.
And then there's the picturesque town of Hudson, Quebec. It passed a bylaw in 1991 to outlaw the cosmetic use of pesticides, not only on town property but also by all homeowners. But two lawn-care companies challenged the law in provincial court, saying it destroyed their business. The court ruled on the side of the town and upheld the by-law. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court of Canada, which sided with the town.
While some lawn care companies fight, others are capitalizing on people's worries. Many firms now offer organic lawn care that relies on the theory that a naturally strong lawn (built using many of the concepts in the sidebar at left) will not be susceptible to weeds and pests in the first place.
There are also the possibilities that science holds. At Montreal's McGill University, scientists are developing a fungus to kill dandelions. The fungus enters different parts of the plant and after seven to 14 days, kills it. But it's still in the trial stage and a few years away from store shelves.
There is one other approach to gardening that is gaining acceptance: let it all hang out. Halifax resident Helen Lofgren decided to do that many years ago. She has a yard with an herb and vegetable garden surrounded by every weed imaginable, even the much-maligned dandelion, which she says makes a lovely salad leaf. Lofgren thinks instead of killing weeds, we should embrace them.
"I like to see the way it evolves in the way natural things do," Lofgren says. "The insects and the birds and the plants all come to an equilibrium." It may not work for everyone, but for Lofgren, it's where she says she feels safe.
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