Is Your Tomato Impacting Puget Sound?
Many of us can’t imagine a better summertime treat than a ripe red tomato or a bowl of juicy strawberries. Growing fruits and vegetables is a great way to enjoy the summer weather and eat delicious food, but did you know that how you garden can have an impact on Puget Sound? Striving for the perfect produce leads some people to use pesticides to get rid of unwanted bugs, but sometimes these chemicals can kill animals that they weren’t intended for. They can be carried by run-off from rain and irrigation to streams, lakes and the marine waters of Puget Sound where they can kill or harm fish, amphibians and other wildlife.
Viewer Tip: Before you sprinkle on the pesticides, give some other methods a try. Use compost to make your plants strong and healthy, try companion planting to deter pests and buy products that are labeled safe for wildlife. If you must use pesticides, don’t apply them right before a rain storm, as they will be washed off your garden and into the groundwater or storm drain, eventually ending up in Puget Sound.
Seasons: Spring, Summer
This information is provided by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. Learn more at www.ptmsc.org.
(Sources: Washington Department of Ecology, http://www.ecy.wa.gov/washington_waters/yardcare.html; US Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Contaminants Program, http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/issues/pesticides.cfm; WSU master gardeners program
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/mgtemp/classes/water/EB1744.pdf)
