HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

When I was ten years old, we lived in a rural area where subdivisions had started to pop up. We lived in such a subdivision. No one had fenced in yards, and the animals from the marsh sometimes wandered around the neighborhoods. In fact, there were many rabbits who burrowed in our backyards. One day, I had witnessed the horrible site of a mother rabbit and her babies. The babies looked like they had died trying to climb out of the burrow. They were arranged in a straight line from the back, to just a little out of the burrow. The lawn treatment truck had just been there, and the chemicals had killed them. I was beside myself, but my mom said, “It’s just one of those things.”

Since, I have always been sensitive to what I have put on the lawn and in the garden. Organic gardening is something that is so easy to do, especially on a small scale, such as in your garden.  There is some controversy in the minds of critics.  In some countries, for instance, they might not use pesticides, but may use natural matter that may not be suitable for use with plants that are going to ultimately be consumed.  It is kind of like my theory about junk food: “Just because its all natural doesn’t make that potato chip any better for you.” While I can’t personally regulate that, what I can regulate is what is grown in my own garden. I am particularly concerned with the safety of pets as well as the safety of the eventual food the plants will become.

There was recently a segment on Designing Spaces, a show which appears on TLC and We, that features products from Saferbrand. Organic products are defined, and some are demonstrated. It is important to note that organic pesticides ARE indeed effective if used correctly, contrary to some opinions.

The delivery, to me, in the segment, appears a little stilted, but the information is good.

WPvideo 1.10

I picked up a few new things from the video. What stuck in my mind the most is that sometimes the bottom of the leaf isn’t sprayed to deter insects, and we forget about that.  I would imagine it is just like putting on sunscreen and missing a spot.  Sometimes, also, the individual is not covering the whole insect with the product.  In my observation, we tend to go crazy with spraying something with ant and roach killer to “make sure that it’s dead,” but we are a little too sparing when it comes to a preventative product or an organic one.

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