Poisons and Toxins in the Garden
Poisons kill! I suppose that's why you placed poison in your
garden in the first place. I'm not sure what it is you are
trying to kill? It could be you placed slug pellets to kill
the slugs and snails that are eating your imported prized
hybrid plants. But, of course, if you enjoy seeing birds and
hedgehogs in your garden then you are a hypocrite as they
eat slugs and snails and what do you think the poison will
do to them? The experts will argue they are selling hedgehog
friendly slug pellets, but it is a poison, how can that be
friendly? Maybe you will give the hedgehog a serious tummy
ache that prevents them from feeding? Could be the poison
is in the mothers milk and kills her young? Questions, questions...
Better not to use toxic and damaging chemicals in the first
place. Far better that you encourage birds and hedgehogs into
your garden to eat the slugs and snails free from danger of
poisoning. Also slow worms and small snakes eat slugs and
you can easily encourage these wonderful predators into your
garden by placing a piece of slate or a tin sheet on a south
facing slope as slow worms will gather under any heat gathering
object. Other things you can do is place an up ended pot or
half a grapefruit skin on te flower beds and the slugs will
gather underneath and it is easy to remove them from your
garden, but again I would encourage you not to kill them.
Wholesale murder of slugs and snails is, in my view, tantamount
to genocide. People commit genocide because of a hatred for
another race or they feel offended by another cultures religion
or beliefs and that is called ethnic cleansing. A gardener
who kills slugs and snails is killing indiscriminately because
they feel offended by another species eating habits and, in
my view, they are ethnically cleansing their garden. That
attitude offends me. According to your view of the world I
have every right to kill you.
Weed killers! A weed is simply an indigenous plants that
propagates easily. The definition for the word weed is a plant
growing where it shouldn't. The reason an indigenous plant
propagates easily is that it has evolved in an ecology nature
has decreed it perfect for and, of course, nature knows best.
For instance, if you kill a thistle you are killing a food
source for a beautiful bird like the Goldfinch. Grow thistles
and, on the other hand, you will attract Goldfinches. There
are many other examples and I encourage you to seek out the
reason nature has perfected a plant for a particular ecology
before you kill that plant. Besides, personally, I think,
if a "weed" could talk, it would stand up and object
to being called a weed. It might say, "I am a dandelion!"
or "I am a thistle!" or "I am a daisy!".
So I think we have to ask the question: is calling an indigenous
plant a "weed" racist? In my view, yes. So there.
You are welcome to email your arguments and I will consider
your opinion amd maybe I'll publish your opinion here... :)
