LIFESTYLES }

EASY GOING WITH THE SHAKER
Salt excesses damage environment

EVER HEARD of the serpent Ouroboros? It was a
mythological creature, considered noteworthy for its inter-
esting habit of devouring its ow. ‘ail.

Depending on one’s point of
view, this could be viewed as either
the consummate example of
economy or the best illustration of
a wasted experience. I prefer to see
it as analogous to some of the
everyday activities of our various
levels of government.

My personal favorite is the
municipal government's practices
with regard to the landscaping of
our streets and by-ways. First the
various parks departments spend
large amounts of money in order
to provide us with a beautiful (and
expensive) array of street plant-
ings.

Then, with the first sign of frost,
engineering sallies forth with a
veritable army of salt trucks whose
secondary purpose appears to be
the annihilation of said plantings.
A fine example of a bottom-up

budgeting, wouldn't you say?
Inevitably, this leads up to the
point of this article: be careful us-

Although products such as
Sulphate of Ammonia and Urea
are only toxic to plants in larger
quantities, there are other risks to
be considered.

As these fertilizers and most
other salts dissolve in melting snow
or rain, they can create quite the

over the

garden gate

ing salts around the yard. 1 am
speaking of the rock salt that is
commonly used for this purpose
and the various fertilizer salts that
are sometimes used as well.

PLANTING SEEDS

Spring starts now

THE NEW year for gardeners
usually begins with the receipt of
the first seed catalogue — general-
ly within the first two weeks of
January.

If you have not grown your
plants from seeds before, especial-
ly if you have young children, why
not make this the year? Nothing
will bring spring on more quickly
than watching your young seed-
lings grow in a sunny windowsill.

To start, you'll need a copy of at
least one, and preferably two or
three seed catalogues which are
available free upon request. The
Canadian Garden Council can
supply you with a list of major
seed catalogue sources in Canada
and the U.S. if you send your
name and address to the Council
at: 6 Nesbitt Dr., Toronto, Ont.

M4W 2G3.

There are several reasons for
suggesting obtaining more than
one seed catalogue. First, each
company takes a little different
approach to its catalogue. By
comparing and contrasting the in-
formation for the various varieties
offered, and which you think you
would like to grow, you will be
able to gain a great dea! of knowl-
edge that could well affect just
what plants or varieties you actuai-
ly start from seed.

Second, not all seed companies
have the same varieties, including
not necessarily all the newer
cultivars introduced. Third, pricing
varies amongst the companies, and
depending on quantities, you may
find ordering a few items from one
company, and the rest from

enter:to win!

Geoff Tobiasson

cocktail. A corrosive cocktail that
is quite capable of eating its way
into concrete and asphalt drive-
ways, walks and patios as well as
your automobile.

another, saves money.

The best sources from which to
learn about how to grow a par-
ticular flower or vegetable are the
seed catalogues. Each one offers
unique hints on as divergent a list
of topics as when and how to start
the seed, to suggestions on
harvesting techniques. The people
who write the seed catalogues have
hands-on experience with all of the
varieties they sell and they want
you to be more than satisfied with
the seed you buy from them. Thus,
they go out of their way to offer
advice they think you may not find
elsewhere.

Without question, the widest
selection of different varieties of
both flower and vegetables avail-

See Winning
Page 20

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19 - Friday. _January 19, 1990 - North Shore News

But the most damage is done to
the environment in general and
your landscape in particular. High
levels of salt in the soil are haz-
ardous to most types of wildlife,
including plants, animals and fish.

As salts from groundwater begin
to build up around the roots of
your plants, corrosion of the roots
will occur. This can reveal itself as
slow, sickly growth in minor cases
to complete failure in severe cir-
cumstances.

Even moderate amounts of salt
build-up in the soil can radically
affect the pH of your soil; making
it either far too acidic or alkaline
to support healthy plant growth.

Severe cases can lead to soil
Sterilization and prohibit any
growth for years.

Animals and fish are affected
negatively when their habitat is
poisoned with the excessive use of
tock salt by municipal govern-
ments. This is sodium chloride and
it is toxic even to humans in larger
doses.

The more fragile species such as

\ ig LIFESTYLES

fish and birds are poisoned by
much smaller amounts. The ap-
plied salts quickly appear in the
storm drains and flush out into our
streams and rivers rendering them
uninhabitable.

Whenever possible, we should be
using coarse sand as a safer alter-
native. Current municipal practices
dictate the use of salt on all streets
down to temperatures in the 20°F
range at which point they will use
sand.

We should discourage this in
favor cf a sand-first policy with
the possible exception of proven
problem areas such as unavoidable
hills, dangerous intersections and
curves.

Of course this also assumes that
the general public will be expected
to abort one of its favorite
pastimes and God-given rights:
real-life bumper cars. In light of
the fact that most of us are trying
to prove we could give Richard
Petty a race for his money, snow
or no snow, |] am not optimistic.

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