Pesticide-Free Gardening

by Adriane Schroeder

Gardening with our children can be a catch-as-catch-can affair that does not lend itself to obsessing over leaf spots on the old rose in your backyard or worrying about the number of dandelions popping up in your lawn. Good thing too, as not obsessing about your garden might mean you’ll be more likely to employ simple, non-toxic gardening practices.

Preventing exposure to pesticide products—herbicides, insecticides, fungicides—is one important thing you can do to protect your children’s health as there is a probable link between pesticide exposure and certain types of cancers. The Canadian Cancer Society acknowledges that protecting our children’s health is a parent’s foremost concern. We also know that, for some, the gardening season can include the use of herbicides and insecticides that are harmful to our children’s health.

Children are at particular risk from exposure to these chemicals because their bodies absorb more environmental contaminants compared to adults and they can directly ingest chemicals because of their low-to-the-ground crawling, exploring surfaces and hand-to-mouth behaviours.

Also, children are most at risk for acute pesticide poisonings. You may not use pesticides but you may be visiting family and friends this spring and summer who do. Pesticide containers are not child-safe. Don’t be shy about confirming with friends and family that any toxic products, including pesticides, are securely locked away from children’s reach.

Do you have containers of pesticides on your property? If so, dispose of them safely by taking these products in their original containers to an approved recycling centre.

For information about approved recycling centres, visit the following links:

In Victoria:
Capital Regional District:
www.crd.bc.ca/rte/pest/disposal.htm

Mid-Island:
Regional District of Nanaimo:
www.rdn.bc.ca

Cowichan Regional District:
www.cvrd.bc.ca

Are you committed to changing current gardening habits to eliminate pesticides but have family members who are committed to their use? How to get the conversation started:

• Let them know that many pesticide formulations were evaluated years ago and their continued use may not reflect current research into their safety.

• Remind them that children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of pesticides.

• Establish that your shared priority is your children’s health and that the Canadian Cancer Society advocates for a “better safe than sorry” approach.

• Share information on alternatives.

Change takes time but we must remember, when new information becomes available we are compelled to act. Using pesticides where our children live and play is not safe.

Here are some simple tips to reducing pesticide exposure this spring:

• Consider choosing plants that better suit our local conditions. Often what looks like a pest or disease is actually a plant struggling with the quality of soil, amount of light and moisture. Check the environmental conditions that a particular plant needs to thrive.

• Choose native plants. They are naturally resistant to pests.

• Grow a variety of plants. This discourages pests from settling and reproducing in a garden.

• Build healthy soil, leave grass clippings on your lawn.

• Mow high/mow less often—raise your mower blade to 7.5 cm (3 inches). Mowing when grass is high encourages your lawn to develop a deeper root system so as to better tolerate heat, pests etc.

• Water deeply but infrequently.

• Keep mower blades sharp—a dull mower blade can tear and damage grass leaving it susceptible to pests and disease.

For more tips view the Capital Regional District’s pest fact sheets at www.crd.bc.ca/rte/pest/facts.htm.

Esquimalt and the City of Victoria have recently enacted pesticide reduction by-laws restricting the use of pesticides for non-essential/cosmetic purposes. Visit these municipal websites for information on alternatives and to learn about the by-law in your neighbourhood or visit www.pesticidefreecrd.org to find out about more about how you can get involved in making your neighbourhood pesticide free.

If you are unsure of what products you should be concerned about, please contact Adriane Schroeder at aschroeder@bc.cancer.ca.

Adriane Schroeder is the Vancouver Island Community Action Coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society. Adriane works with Island communities to address the preventable causes of cancer by promoting public policies that make healthy choices easy choices.