2 Women on 2 Acres

For three years I have lovingly tended our piece of paradise, all by hand, I have dug out hundreds of thistles, mounds of invasive ink-weed, unwanted poisonous shrubs and tried to make a beautiful natural kitchen garden.

I have done this because machines are too big and cumbersome for our property and it’s kinder to the environment not to dig up huge tracts of land in the name of human development.

But, a week ago all my efforts were put at risk by a neighbour’s moment of madness…

Spring Spraying Madness
It’s that time of year here in New Zealand, when farmers wage a war against the thistles in their paddocks and dump lime with wonton abandon over their land and dig up any paddock which ‘has to be paddock cleansed’ and spray it with round up.

I hate this time of year, but I have always thought our piece of paradise was pretty safe from chemical trespass, because the neighbour’s have always been careful not to bring the spraying tractor too close to our fence line and stupid me thought them ever so kind and considerate.

Weed Killers, Lime and Round up
We get the obligatory dumping of lime, curtsey of the neighbour’s, this comes in quite happily on the wind, from lorries and planes. But I hadn’t realized what else comes our way curtsey of the wind.

This is the first real growing season in our kitchen garden and when my Heirloom broad beans suddenly went for blooming health to yellow shriveled dead offerings.

I was worried. I had lovingly cherished their tiny tender pods, and had carefully marked my treasure for seeds.
After all, the seeds have been kept alive for over a hundred years, and the old gentleman I got mine off has gone to the big kitchen garden in the sky, so I know I cannot get any more.

I checked everything, and was at a lost to what had caused this catastrophe. It wasn’t until I was driving into town and passed a farmer spraying his field that all the pieces fell into place.

Spray Drift, the poisons carried on the wind from the surrounding farms had cut a swathe through my kitchen garden and killed everything in its wake. It was not only the broad beans, but, herbs, tender tops of potatoes, small seedling beans have lost their leaves, cape gooseberry bushes, all turning yellow and dying.

I showed one neighbour, and I know he had been careful, but he had come less then a meter to our fence line and the unpredictable wind had done the rest.

Spray Drift Consequences
His wife gave him hell, and apologies galore from the family, but for us it has been devastating.

1) Three years wasted believing next year we could apply for Organic Certification.

2) Valuable seeds and produce has been lost, apart form the obvious, what else is NOT safe for us to eat.

3) I had just started a small market garden business, bringing fresh herbs into peoples lives, this has now stopped, until I am sure what is damaged and what is safe.

4) Loss of the income from my new enterprise, which at the moment is estimated at $100 a week. This will rise as vegetables come into season, but not if I have wide spread chemical damage. In this case the whole kitchen garden will have to be cleared and begun again from scratch.

If It Happens To You What Can You Do?
You could try and ask your neighbour’s to be more careful, I have recently learnt that all farmers are responsible for controlling their spray drift.

Don’t wait, act quickly. Photograph the damage and record times, dates, weather and physical findings.

Report it to the appropriate authorities, I know this is bad for community relations, but so is poisoning my land and my food source. (Think about chemical drift into our water supply, if it has done noticeable damage to the kitchen garden, what about the unseen dangers?)

It is not a matter of getting people into trouble,this has the potential to be serious stuff, think about it, if it chemicals are designed to ‘kill’ weeds, then it has the potential to poison you and your family.

What The Authorities Will Do
I admit I can only tell you about the obligations our Environment Department has here in our region of the Waikato, New Zealand.

But, ask at your local council offices, like we did, and they will point you in the right direction.

The information will be investigated, and an independent investigator will come and assess the damage to your property, take samples, analyze potential danger areas, interview those responsible.

Then if necessary an inquiry will be held.

What The Farmers Should Have Done
They should inform surrounding farms about their spraying routine, they should advise what chemicals they are spraying and when. This can be done in person or by a letter.

They should manage their spray drift on the actual day

I think it is all about responsibility, I don’t use chemicals , that’s MY choice, I don’t inflict this on anyone else. What they do on their land is up to them, but when it affects me and my land then it is MY problem.

I wonder, seriously if I had damaged the surrounding land what sort of outcry there would be…

A bloody big one I can tell you, something along the lines of Bloody Townies.

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