Page 9 - Sonoma County Gardeners Resource Guide 2017.indd

BEWARE cont’d from page 8
How to avoid Clopyralid and Aminopyralid
The only way to avoid this threat is to keep materials contaminated with Clopyralid and Aminopyralid out of our gardens in the first place.
When talking to a farmer, wholesaler, or retailer supplying hay or straw for your livestock it is a great start to ask about Clopyralid and Aminopyralid. However, the unsuspecting farmer or feed provider may not recognize these chemicals by their names as they are merely non-promoted ingredients. Therefore, asking about the specific product names that they are sold under might be more effective:
Plant affected by herbicide carry-over from compost
Aminopyralid - sold as Milestone, Forefront, Pharaoh, Banish.
Clopyralid - sold as Curtail, Confront, Clopyr AG, Lontrel, Stinger, Millennium Ultra, Millenium Ultra Plus, Reclaim, Redeem, Transline.
Also, when you purchase finished soil blends or compost, inquire as to whether the manufacturer tests for Clopyralid and Aminopyralid.
What to do if your garden is contaminated
“This too shall pass”. Clopyralid and Aminopyralid do not even breakdown in the high temperatures reached in a composting process and remain active plant killers for up to 24 months. It will take several years, but eventually the herbicides will disappear...IF...you add only herbicide free amendments.
ASK your source of amendments what they know about the product they sell. READ the labels to see if the compost, fertilizer, mulch, amendment you are purchasing claims to be herbicide-free.
Please support our advertisers who make this Resource Guide possible. Find their location on our centerspread MAP, and their website on www.SonomaCountyNurseries.com as well as www.SonomaCountyGazette.com
You can also purchase manure-free materials and/or make your own compost from pure vegetable materials. The 2016 Gardeners Resourec Guide fetaured an article by Will Bakx on how to Make your own Compost. You can find Will’s article at www.SonomaCountyNurseries.com.
A great local source for non-contaminated compost is Grab N’ Grow on Llano Rd. in Santa Rosa. They take pride in their testing process to ensure manures are free of Clopyralid and Aminopyralid BEFORE they are transported to their facility. The good folks at Grab N’ Grow are always on the look-out for “clean” manure, so they can keep supplying gardeners with non-contaminated compost. So, if you have horse, chicken or cow manure (at least 20 yards per month), please contact Grab N’ Grow at707-575 7275 or go to www.Grabngrowsoil.com for more info.
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