‘Poison’ Articles at Nuganics

May Garden Calendar – Getting Ready for Winter

May is the month that sorts the gardeners out, and the month that heralds the completion of one of nature’s cycles; a time when autumn leaves crunch underfoot. Don’t burn off the leaves-this leads to major air pollution problems around city areas. Instead, use the leaves as surface mulch on garden beds, or compost them for later use. An easy method is to bung them all into a large garbage bag, and plonk them out of the way for a few months.

JOBS TO DO NOW

If you love orchids, consider the miniature cymbidium orchids, which are the same as ordinary orchids but have smaller leaves and more petite flowers. All can be planted in partly shaded rockeries in orchid compost (never in straight soil). Orchids will be sending out their flower spikes now, so sprinkle some snail bait around. When using these, spread them out thinly and never in heaps as this may attract dogs; snail baits are poisonous to dogs and cats, so always scatter them sparingly and keep the packet locked out of your pets’ (and kids’) reach.

Set the lawn mower up a notch to let the grass thicken for winter.

Garden shrubs and trees can be moved from now until August, when bud burst occurs. Dig up as much of the roots as possible and water in with a solution of plant hormone growth stimulant (kelp) such as Plant Hormone after planting.

Cut back chrysanthemums and lift dahlia bulbs.

As the vegies finish and die off for winter, dig in plenty of manure and leave fallow or plant a green manure crop to improve the soil. Try ‘Clever Clover’, which is available from the CSIRO in Canberra.

INDOOR PLANTS

As winter approaches, ease off with the watering of indoor plants. Plants like to be kept a little drier in winter, as excess water chills their roots. Leave repotting and fertilising until spring, and keep plants away from heaters or airconditioning vents.

Small (match head-sized), fluffy white blobs on plants indicates the presence of mealy bug. There is no effective longterm treatment for this pest and it is best to quickly get rid of affected plants before the pest spreads.

TIME TO PLANT

It is really too late to plant tropical things like bougainvillea and frangipani unless you live in the tropics, but you can still sneak in winter-flowering jewels such as luculia, flowering quinces, camellias, hardenbergia and many grevilleas, as well as some violas, pansies, alyssum, Livingstone daisies, lobelia, English daisies, calendulas, dianthus, anemones, primulus, ranunculus, poppies, stocks, sweet peas, snapdragons, larkspurs, cornflowers, foxgloves and cinerarias.

In the vegetable garden plant cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, radish and broad beans (not in tropical areas).

Reference: Donald Burke

Plastic Bottle Poison

We all drink/eat out of plastic bottles/containers at some stage but do the chemicals within the plastic leach into our food and water? Common sense would suggest that there would be some chemical leaching especially when the plastic is subjected to microwaves, strong acids/alkali or heat from dish washing but is this a concern?

A lot of plastic materials have recycling numbers imprinted into the plastic. For example most disposable water bottles are made from PET which is recycling number 1. This plastic if fine for single use but can decay allowing microbe contamination to grow which can be a health hazard. They should only be used for single use.

Since PET is meant to be single use we may turn to sports bottles which are commonly made of a harder plastic as they are designed for multiple use. These are commonly made from recycling number 7. Recycling number 7 contains a chemical called Bisphenol A. This chemical has been found to mimic hormones in our body. Bisphenol A has shown in rat studies to effect reproductive and fertility function. Pregnant or expecting mothers need to be particular aware of this problem as it could have similar effects in humans.

So what are you left to use? I recommend using glass where ever possible. It is easy to clean, won’t scratch and doesn’t have the potential problems of plastic. I would also keep away recycling numbers 3 and 6 as they also have other chemicals that maybe of concern.

Genetically Modified GM POISON FOOD

Well made hard hitting documentary on the GMO issue.

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE

Free Mini-documentary from Merge Medicine exploring the issue of Mercury Amalgam poisoning. When Kelly G., A five-time cancer survivor, meets Anita Vazquez Tibau, a consumer activist and adult onset asthma victim, they unite, determined to get to the roots of the highly debated mercury issue which they believe may also be the roots of their own chronic health problems. After watching Government agencies continually debate whether a poison is a poison or not, they take a crew out on the road to uncover the truth about mercury. Armed with mercury vapor machines this group of unlikely heroes travels the world on the Open Your Mouth Tour. From trailer parks to Congress and even the United Nations, they connect with leaders, buck the system and bring together the M TEAM, led by none other than dc public interest attorney, Charlie brown. They are guaranteed to make you think, make you laugh and rattle your fillings while they search for the solutions.

Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas

This is a free video clip excerpt from the full length video available at the IAOMT. Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas Odourless, colourless and tasteless — but it casts a shadow in black light! This dramatic video of mercury vapour out gassing from an amalgam dental filling has outraged the world since it was first demonstrated at an IAOMT meeting in 1995.