A few years ago I wrote a series of articles addressing horticultural myths and old sayings about the world of gardening. Given that so much of our influence comes from social media, I think it’s time to say a bit more about the downsides of social media when it comes to gardening.
Holman
Social media has its pros, but I also think it has its fair share of cons. Some of the gardening advice is just plain wrong and does more harm than good. The first thing you'll notice are the “organic” weed killers, which are usually a mix of salt, vinegar, dish soap, Epsom salts, and other things you might have in your kitchen.
Salt is not good for soil and will build up in the soil over time. Another problem with salt is that it can leach out of the soil and damage nearby plants. After a battle, it was common to spread salt on the soil of the losers to cripple it.
Vinegar itself is effective at killing weeds, but the vinegar you find in your kitchen isn't usually strong enough. Table vinegar contains 4% to 8% acetic acid. Higher concentrations of vinegar than table vinegar can cause burns on skin or eyes if it comes into contact with them.
Garden stores now sell more concentrated versions of vinegar, usually labeled as organic weed killers. Organic weed killers usually contain 15% to 20% acetic acid.
All pesticides have signal words that indicate the dangers they pose. There are three signal words: CAUTION, WARNING, and DANGER. CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury. WARNING indicates a situation which, if not avoided, may result in death or serious injury. Danger indicates a situation which, if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury.
The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate and the warning word for glyphosate is “Caution,” which is the lowest of all warning words. I recently came across the label of an organic herbicide made with 20% acetic acid and its warning word was “Danger,” which is the highest. All pesticides/herbicides, organic or not, have warning labels. Just because a chemical is listed as organic does not mean it is safer.
Pesticides are the same whether organic or not. The safest pesticide to spray in your yard for pest control is to do nothing. All pesticides, organic or not, can harm beneficial insects as well as the pests we are fighting. Read and follow the label whether organic or not. The label is the law and all chemicals should be used according to label guidelines.
Lucas Holman is the UT-TSU horticulture extension agent for Wilson County and can be reached at (615) 444-9584 or Lholman1@utk.edu.
