Why should I never use Weed and Feed?
Here is the scoop:
1. Your lawns needs for weeding and feeding are at different times of the year. First, you want to put down a pre-emergent, early enough to prevent the broad leaf weeds from springing up. This should occur in late February or early March. You apply the fertilizer in late March so your grass greens up at the right time, and not too early during our possible frost dates.
2. What chemicals do they use in Weed and Feed? Well, one of the major chemicals that rings alarms is Atrazine. This stuff is terrible. We have a special responsibility living in Austin for all of Central Texas to not pollute the water table we live on.
3. Studies have shown that Atrazine soaks into the water table, through our limestone caverns, into our Spring water and resurfaces in the many springs and rivers. It effects our wildlife, which in turns effects the balance of our sensitive ecosystems. Frogs were reported to be demasculinized or became hermaphrodite after being exposed at low ecologically relevant doses of the herbicide in the laboratory. Levels as low as 0.1 parts per billion atrazine induced hermaphroditism. According to the study by the USDA, It also effected salmon in the same way.
4. It is toxic to humans when consumed in our drinking water in high doses. Recently, atrazine was found to potentiate arsenic toxicity in human cells, a result that causes concern in areas where drinking water is polluted with both toxins. Even though cancer has been a focus of regulatory action on the herbicide, impacts such as the intra-uterine growth retardation observed in communities with atrazine-polluted drinking water supplies have been given scant consideration.
5. Atrazine can be present in parts per million in agricultural run-offs and can reach 40 parts per billion in precipitation. The global impact of atrazine is staggering.
SO, this chemical should be completely obsolete, yet it is sold to everyday consumers at places like Home Depot who do not always know how to effectively apply the stuff. It should NEVER be used, especially since there are numerous ways to apply a pre-emergent that is just as effective, and does not have the monumentously negative effects.
DON"T BUY WEED AND FEED AND TRY TO GET YOUR STORES NOT TO SELL IT!
Here is the scoop:
1. Your lawns needs for weeding and feeding are at different times of the year. First, you want to put down a pre-emergent, early enough to prevent the broad leaf weeds from springing up. This should occur in late February or early March. You apply the fertilizer in late March so your grass greens up at the right time, and not too early during our possible frost dates.
2. What chemicals do they use in Weed and Feed? Well, one of the major chemicals that rings alarms is Atrazine. This stuff is terrible. We have a special responsibility living in Austin for all of Central Texas to not pollute the water table we live on.
3. Studies have shown that Atrazine soaks into the water table, through our limestone caverns, into our Spring water and resurfaces in the many springs and rivers. It effects our wildlife, which in turns effects the balance of our sensitive ecosystems. Frogs were reported to be demasculinized or became hermaphrodite after being exposed at low ecologically relevant doses of the herbicide in the laboratory. Levels as low as 0.1 parts per billion atrazine induced hermaphroditism. According to the study by the USDA, It also effected salmon in the same way.
4. It is toxic to humans when consumed in our drinking water in high doses. Recently, atrazine was found to potentiate arsenic toxicity in human cells, a result that causes concern in areas where drinking water is polluted with both toxins. Even though cancer has been a focus of regulatory action on the herbicide, impacts such as the intra-uterine growth retardation observed in communities with atrazine-polluted drinking water supplies have been given scant consideration.
5. Atrazine can be present in parts per million in agricultural run-offs and can reach 40 parts per billion in precipitation. The global impact of atrazine is staggering.
SO, this chemical should be completely obsolete, yet it is sold to everyday consumers at places like Home Depot who do not always know how to effectively apply the stuff. It should NEVER be used, especially since there are numerous ways to apply a pre-emergent that is just as effective, and does not have the monumentously negative effects.
DON"T BUY WEED AND FEED AND TRY TO GET YOUR STORES NOT TO SELL IT!
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