Howdy everyone! Another lonely Sunday night here. I did manage to get done almost cutting everything back this afternoon. Lots of work yet to do. I have lots of dividing and moving to do. I have literally thousands of plants to take care of. Remeber how I said the place I worked was wasteful? Yeah, all of them came from there, and I could have had many more if I wanted. Ridiculous waste. All of the resources it took to raise those, and so many are just thrown away in the landfill at the end of the season. Terrible. I tell you if I can find a site that rates companies on being eco friendly, I am going to make sure it is know how bad this place is!! blarg.

So that brings me to a continuous discussion of the green industry as a whole, and the harm it is doing to our planet. Now remember, not all companues are like this, and again that it why it is so important to do your homework and choose wisely!!

WATER USE AND WASTE

We have parts of this country under severe drought, and burgeoning populations, that are ever taxing on a disappearing water table. There are nurseries that literally are letting thousands of gallons of wastewater go into the ground with out filtration! Where I worked, there was no system to catch runoff of fertilizer treated water. We stood and planted for 8 hours a day, just letting water run down the driveway and into the ground. Now some places that are modernized have planting systems that catch and recycle water that is used in planting plugs. But unfortunately, alot of places don't. The ridiculous waste was astounding. This isn't a  problem of your local mom and pop place that raises some plants on the side. Larger nurseries that are planting thousands of plugs in factory like conditions are the culprit. If you ever ask why a place doesn't recycle the water, you get the ubiquitous money excuse. Well I'm sorry, but there is more money going down the drain with that water than it would cost to implement a recycling system!!!! Again, this is another reason why places are moving out in the boonies. No laws. If there are state laws, no one is around to see and enforce them. Couple that with the uneducated or possibly non-english speaking workers at these places, and no one is capable of even blowing the whistle, or raising concerns. I asked about it where I worked. I recommended they develop a system to drain everything into retention ponds. I mean FFS we had plenty enough extra plants to plant a buffer like a rain garden. Oh no, not economical, and you can see where that got me. Well, what they didn't plan on is that I am disgruntled enough to raise all kinds of hell with the state. We have ag runoff laws here, and they are clearly in violation imo. You just can't dump thousands of gallons of fertillized and acidified non-potable water in the ground. To make it worse, the location is on a solid sand base. It is soaking down as far as it can and fast. I feel sorry for anyone with a  well nearby. There is a trout stream within a few hundred yards as well. So they should be getting a visit from some state inspectors soon! I urge you all if you see this-report it!! Many states are beginning to enact laws banning phosphorus fertilizer because of the harm it does to our waterways. I say nurseries should be no different. Save our water from excessive fertilizer runoff!!!

In addition to poisoning our surface waters, these places drill high capacity wells that draw down the water table even further. There have been several instances where high capacity wells have been proven to cause trout streams to dry up. When the well isn't deep enough, they just go further. Meanwhile, some sap down the road is having a hard time getting enough water for his house. Laws differ, but in many cases, no one even gets notified about a well going in, and the approval process is slack. Sometimes, the person in charge of approval doesn't even go out to the site, they just stamp a big approval on it and accept the permit money. There are few checks in pace to ensure that wells aren't going over capacity, again it's just too much work for overtaxed state or federal agents. No one cares. Am I the only one??? Doesn't anyone else out there even give a shit about it??? Trust me you will care if one of these gets drilled in your neighborhood!!!

The large scale commercial nursery industry is wasting and poisoning our water supply on an everday basis with little regulation. For what??!! To keep the suburbs full of cookie cutter landscape design??!! Individuals can't just use poisoned fertilizer water in any capacity they please, so why are these places?? I'm sorry but it is NOT a cost of doing business. There are better ways, and we need stricter laws to ensure our water supply is kept safe, and supply is adequate.

What can you do?? Report any aggregious abuses you see. Avoid buying from the big box places who are buing wholesale from huge nurseries that are the main culprit of water pollution in the industry. Yet another good reason to buy local. What would you prefer? Pay more at a local mom and pop and keep local people in business, or go to the big box, save a little, but contribute to the destruction of our natural resources?? I know my choice.

There are good companies. Ask where your local retailer is getting their plants and try to find info online about the nursery. As with everything, a little in moderation may not be a bad thing, but plopping down a few hundred bucks at HD for annuals can be doing way more harm than you know!! Water is a necessity of the industry, but waste is not. If you find a place that is wasting, in addition to reporting it, tell them you won't support them and why. If they keep losing business maybe they will learn!!!

Thanks for listening. Like I said, I'm not sure anyone else really cares, but I have spent years watching these crimes against our planet, and it's time someone let the truth be known. Buying green goes beyond home products like soaps, or hybrid cars. There are choices in every industry, and I hope you choose to go the eco friendly route when choosing your plants.

Until next time...

take care everyone!!