The good, the bad and the exciting.

Today I am going to do something I don’t normally do….  Multiple blogs.  I try and do one a week or every ten days at most, however things are really starting to snowball in my head and if I don’t share then, I’m likely to explode!  I have a back log of things to share, and it’s only going to get worse as we run into spring and summer.  I may need to blog at will instead of trying to be consistent.

So today I have three things on my mind that deserve attention but each thing would spoil the other and also would make for a tale so long that no one would have the stamina to read. I have something really good and genuinely nice; something that is bothering me in the garden, and while I try to keep a light-hearted feel to my stuff, I feel compelled to share because when I found out about it my face had that look of shock and disbelief that causes the jaw to drop closer to your toes than your eyebrows;   and finally something so exciting that I think I’m going to burst if I save it to last – but I will save it to last as it’s more fun that way!

So let’s get to it…  The bad….

I DID NOT KNOW THAT!

I read a blog about a week ago, and I’m sorry I don’t know who you were as I read sooo many cool blogs, but this blog hasn’t left me.  I don’t like to think of what I say as “scaremongering” as it makes such perfect sense that I’m surprised it hasn’t occurred to me before – or anyone else.

How well do you know your hose?  This innocuous looking tube that delivers life giving properties to the very food you eat.    Apparently I didn’t know mine very well at all.

Now I grow my garden for a couple of reasons:

Number one:  to save cash!  We hardly ever buy veggies, and we are eating the cool expensive ones alongside our spuds and carrots.

Number two:  I know what’s on my veggies.  I don’t claim to be organic, I try to be as “clean” as I can but if there is a bug or problem I can’t shift, then I’ll reach for a bottle.  There is nothing that is going to come between me and my meal!  But the thing is I know what I put on my plants –I make a carefully considered choice, so we aren’t eating things sprayed willy nilly with goodness knows what that you find in shops.  (I have to say that I’m not all that informed about what’s on crops here in NZ and I’m sure with the clean green image this country has then it can’t be too bad).

Number three:  I love to garden – the health benefits from gardening are just too numerous to mention.  For me it is more than a hobby – it is a lifestyle.  I love my garden.

But what I read the other day has thrown reason number two into complete disarray.  You see when you are gardening to save cash (reason number one) and your garden is a long way from the tap, then finding a cheap hose at a half-price sale is something to be celebrated.  It may be a false economy in the long run as they never seem to last longer than a year before they become cracked, kinked and err um  get run over by the lawn mower because it wasn’t put away – but have you seen the price of the posh hoses!  So off I trot to the store to replace it with another cheap hose.

This other blog couldn’t have been more timely.  The new season is about to start and my old hose is munted!   So what did this blog say….  TERRIBLE THINGS!!!!!  Hoses are responsible for delivering ONTO YOUR FOOD such nasty chemicals that it throws all organic efforts (no matter how half hearted) right out the window.  There are heavy metals – cadmium and barium, BPAs at super high levels – those nasties that everyone went nuts over recently in baby bottles, there is lead – especially in brass connectors and nozzles – I nearly bought a set because the plastic ones kept breaking.

I did a bit of a look about the internet, but I’m the kind of girl who watches scary movies through my fingers held over my eyes.  If you are braver than me and want to look into this as good place to start is   >here<

I’ve seen enough to know it’s not good, and so when I bought my new hose it not only claims to be UV protected and anti-kink – my two biggest hose dramas, but it is also cadmium and barium free!  It’ll have to do.

The other things you can do, short of buying a hose that says “safe for drinking water” although you may need to mortgage your home for that one.  You can run your hose for a few minutes to get rid of water that was lying in the hose before you water your plants. You can keep your hose out of the sun (which means actually putting it away after use – but my hose is sooo long and I’m sooo lazy) and don’t drink out of it (I have such fond memories of as a child racing my siblings to get to the hot water out of the hose first – I still remember that warm hose taste – if only we knew) or you could forgo the hose all together and use a stainless steel watering can – if you have a teeny tiny garden.

It’s ok if you are watering flowers, but when you water the food you give to your kids….  It’s a whole nother story.

Ok that’s it for now…  I need to get on or Hubby the Un-Gardener will look at me with that “what have you been doing all day” look in his eye.

Come again soon – real soon. The next one is a celebration.

Sarah the Gardener  : o )