An environmentally sound garden is a garden with healthy plants and soil and an abundance of wildlife. Such a garden looks after itself, and so less maintenance and fewer pesticides are needed. Insects and plants, even those considered as pests, have an important role to play in a garden and the natural balance that exists between them.
The indiscriminate use of pesticides is unnecessary and extremely unhealthy especially in an urban environment. Commonly used non-selective synthetic pesticides with active ingredients such as organophosphate, harm the environment and cause harm to pets and humans.
By allowing our gardens to manage themselves in a natural way, we can make a number of positive differences, more wildlife will visit a healthy garden, less money is spent on pesticides and the lack of chemical pesticides means less damage to our pets and children.
Kirchhoff’s has a range of environmentally friendly products that are specifically designed for the environmentally-conscious person. Kirchhoff’s gardening philosophy is to do no harm and to view gardening as a holistic balance between creating an ideal environment for ourselves and loved ones as well as for the beneficial insects and animals that are welcome in our gardens.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Pesticide Toxicity
– There are misperceptions that everything organically or naturally produced is non hazardous and non toxic, and that everything chemically produced is toxic and hazardous.
– Pesticides with no or short persistency in the environment are normally classified as less hazardous to the environment than those with very long residual activity.
– The more targeted the use of pesticides, the more friendly they become towards natural predators (e.g. ladybirds preying on aphids ).
– We must not just accept that everything natural or organic is safe or non toxic. There are a lot of substances in nature that are highly toxic. Any product, organic or inorganic, that is more pest targeted (selective), that breaks down within a short period and is non hazardous to the user during the application, is a more environmental friendly product.
– Due to natural pesticide’s non or short residual, repelling and mainly contact killing action, more applications are necessary to achieve the same results than with many residual chemical pesticides. When using insect repellents, users must realize that the main purpose is to prevent insects from landing onto healthy clean plants. Repellents like garlic extracts DO NOT KILL, they prevent insects from targeting host plants . It is important to start with pesticides which kill on contact to control insect populations already present on plants, before using insect repellents.
– Pesticides (naturally or synthetically produced ) have to comply with the registration guidelines laid down by the Department of Agriculture, registration of agricultural remedies, Act 36/1947. Products for home garden use are far more restricted than those for agriculture use.
Main routes of poisoning
– Skin (dermal) and eye contact, inhalation through the mouth, nose, throat and lungs, and ingestion (oral intake).The effects of some poisons resemble those of natural illness, e.g. vomiting and diarrhoea, or collapse. Individuals also react differently to poisons.
SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL HELP SHOULD SUSPECTED POISONINGS OCCUR.
BEFORE USING ANY PESTICIDE, DISEASE TREATMENT OR FERTILIZER PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS ON BOX AND INSERT VERY CAREFULLY.
Standard warnings and precautions on all labels as per Act 36/1947
