(Arlo & Janis via GoComics.com)
Spent some time yesterday harvesting what will probably be the last full-sized tomatoes of the year, although I’m hoping to eke out a few more weeks with a trickle of cherry tomatoes. On an up note, one of the ‘volunteer’ vines I transplanted from last year’s discarded soil turned out to be a White Currant so I got a nice handful of sweetness right off the vine.
Less happy garden-related news, from the NYTimes:
… First patented by Monsanto as a herbicide in 1974, glyphosate [Roundup] has helped revolutionize farming by making it easier and cheaper to grow crops. The use of the herbicide has grown exponentially, along with biotech crops….
“Because glyphosate moves into the soil from the plant, it seems to affect the rhizosphere, the ecology around the root zone, which in turn can affect plant health,” said Robert Kremer, a scientist at the United States Agriculture Department, who has studied the impact of glyphosate on soybeans for more than a decade and has warned of the herbicide’s impact on soil health.
Like the human microbiome, the plants’ roots systems rely on a complex system of bacteria, fungi and minerals in the soil. The combination, in the right balance, helps protect the crops from diseases and improves photosynthesis.
In some studies, scientists have found that a big selling point for the pesticide — that it binds tightly to minerals in the soil, like calcium, boron and manganese, thus preventing runoff — also means it competes with plants for those nutrients. Other research indicates that glyphosate can alter the mix of bacteria and fungi that interact with plant root systems, making them more susceptible to parasites and pathogens….
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What’s going on in your gardens this week?