Dec 14, 2015
The Dec. 1 gardening column by Mary Stickley-Godinez (“Gardening: Chemical warfare common in nature,” The Daily Progress online, Nov. 30) perpetuates the mistaken beliefs that humankind must constantly fight nature and that nature fights itself.
These notions — which every horticulture student learns and that virtually all garden writers, extension agents and nursery workers relay to the public — are wrong.
The horticultural industry is based upon experiences out of context. The difficulties encountered inside a greenhouse, or in an equally unnatural setting such as the monocultures created by farmers, occur precisely because these environments are artificial constructs out of sync with the natural laws governing nature.
The columnist’s comment that it’s “war out there” originates from the nonsense put forth by scientists who themselves work in an artificial environment of Petri dishes instead of the real world. Allelopathy — the concept that some plant species can hinder or prevent germination or growth of others by releasing chemicals into their environment — is dogma very much akin to that regarding “germs.”
Because scientists now possess the means to count the huge number of microorganisms that exist on surfaces that we touch, health hazards are suddenly deemed to be everywhere, when in fact, the effect of these organisms upon us is minimal. The preponderance of experiential evidence should tell us the truth, but people prefer to ignore facts in order to bash the natural world.
The concept of allelopathy, easily disproved by direct observation of the natural world over time, begs the question: If plants are capable of fighting their own wars, why do humans need to step in with yet more chemicals?
Truth be told, in gardens that support predators to prevent plant-feeding critters from overpopulating, the plants — which, by the way, exist to feed animals — do not need to chemically defend themselves.
Folks should learn to live in agreement with nature by growing a nature-friendly garden. It doesn’t require chemical warfare by plants or people.
Marlene A. Condon
http://www.dailyprogress.com/opinion/opinion-letter-nature-should-be-natural-not-chemical/article_0b647e06-a25a-11e5-b5ed-87b903a33a66.html