Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - July 07, 2016
From: Houston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders
Title: Possible Herbicide Contamination of Soil
Answered by: Anne Van Nest
QUESTION:
My mother will be 80 this year and lives in Houston, Texas. She has a raised bed garden near her neighbors fence. It has been there for many years. She feels that he uses Roundup for his weeds near a large building on the other side of the fence. How bad is it for her to eat her veggies from her garden now that we know this information? What could we use to flush any toxins out if they are in the soil? Could I move this well-tended raised bed soil to the other side of her yard and feel safe eating the produce?ANSWER:
Sorry for the delay in replying to your question. Regarding your interest in the herbicide Roundup, the Nature World News website just announced that a recent study revealed that 94% of Americans have been exposed to glyphosate (Roundup). Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide used by many gardeners and farmers. For details visit the www.natureworldnews.com website.
Jeff Schuette of Environmental Monitoring & Pest Management, Department of Pesticide Regulation says in an article entitled "Environmental Fate of Glyphosate" Soil: In general, glyphosate is moderately persistent in soil. Soil studies have determined glyphosate half-lives ranging from 3 to 130 days. In the soil environment, glyphosate is resistant to chemical degradation, is stable to sunlight, is relatively nonleachable, and has a low tendency to runoff (except as adsorbed to colloidal matter). It is relatively immobile in most soil environments as a result of its strong adsorption to soil particles."
To find out more information about pesticides in garden soils, visit the National Pesticide Information Center and look at their soil and pesticides page or if you have questions about this, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 1-800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at [email protected]. If you are thinking of testing your soil for pesticides before you move it to another location read the NPIC information about this subject on the "Testing for Pesticides and Pesticide Exposure".
The safest course of action would be to move the raised bed to the other side of the yard and bring in new soil to grow edible fruits and vegetables.
More Diseases and Disorders Questions
Are brown junipers (Juniperus ashei) dead?
November 08, 2011 - If the cedar/junipers in our area are brown, will they ever come back green? Or just clear them out as dead. There are many of them due to the drought.
Thank you.
view the full question and answer
Recovery of damaged fuchsia plant in hanging basket
July 23, 2007 - I had a beautiful fuchsia plant hanging on my porch. The hanger gave way and the plant fell straight down into another flower bed. The fuchsia seemed ok. I put it back in the pot put up new strong ...
view the full question and answer
Watering Houseplants with Soapy Water
August 22, 2011 - I accidentally watered my house plants with a container that had a some dishsoap in it. Will they be okay? One of the plants is a 20yr old cactus, with small roots.
view the full question and answer
New nursery plants with sappy spots from Round Rock, TX
September 09, 2012 - We live on the west side of RR, near Cedar Park and recently bought three 15 gallon cherry laurels from a nursery. Started to plant them today as we bought them a week ago and noticed base of the trun...
view the full question and answer
Red buckeye not blooming in NY
July 04, 2011 - I planted my red buckeye in September 2007 and it was about 18 inches tall. It is now a few inches short of 5ft. tall. I have had it in the ground for nearly 4 yrs and it has never bloomed. I have fr...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |