The red clover seed has sprouted, my To-Do list and Pesticides

I' m always excited to see any seed that I broadcast sprout.  The red clover is up and creating a blanket of green in my future garden.  I'm amazed to see the little bright green seedlings in the otherwise dull brown field.  The red clover will fix nitrogen back into the soil and is a bee food source.


Winter in North Alabama has been extremely mild.  We've had boat loads of rain and temperatures above freezing for most days. Purely from a farmer's point of view, I'm disappointed.  Freezing temperatures over several weeks would help control pests this coming spring and summer.


My to-do list for the rest of January and February:
Prune my fig, my red ornamental maple, and my ornamental floral bushes
Spray with a dormant oil to kill over-wintering insects and diseases
Spray with lime sulphur to backup the dormant oil
Sharpen and clean my trimmers, lawnmower and garden tools
Do a soil test.
Resist the urge to till my garden while the ground is so wet (resist, resist, resist!)
Keep my electric lawnmower charged even though I'm not using it (yet)
The urge to use my electric lawnmower to mulch is strong (I may not be able to resist this one!)
Set up my new gardens, which do not require tilling, using my compost and chicken-doo.


My Dad was a child of the 30's.  He was born January 21st, 1926, but he was educated in the 30's and 40's.  I point this out because he was a strong believer in pesticides and during this time period chemical manufacturers were turning out numerous patents for their chemicals and spending cash on the products' marketing for public use.  He used so many different pesticides when he farmed that I cannot believe he did not have any cancers.  I sometimes wonder if  Mother's cancer was caused by the environmental heavy uses of pesticides in the U.S. during this time.  


Dad eventually became a believer in organic farming: picking off bugs from the garden, turning up soil on a mild day prior to a freeze to let the winter cold kill the pests.  But I remember white dusted gardens covered in 1-naphthyl methylcarbamate, Carbayl for short, that killed any bad or good insect it touched.  The popular name for this chemical is "Sevin Dust" and it is quickly eliminated by vertebrates causing no harm, or so the literature reads.  I don't believe it.  


I try very hard to limit my use of any chemical in the garden or yard.  In 1984, the largest industrial accident in the world occurred.  It  killed 11,000 people and injured 500,000 people (yes, those zeros are correct), in Bhophal India during the production of this insecticide.  Scary.


Lime sulphur found its way on my shelf because it is used by bonsai enthusiasts to age trees by creating white deadwood.  It is painted on with a brush.  It is a pesticide that when applied carefully kills insects that overwinter on trees and in the soil surrounding the tree.  It is also an effective treatment, when carefully diluted, for mange on dogs and ringworm.   And it stinks.  All pesticides should smell like this one - rotten eggs.  The odor alone warns one to leave it alone.