Gardening: Cautionary Tales: Soil

Good Day, Gardeners!

Today, we will be talking about soil. Why talk about such a boring topic? First of all, it's not boring. It's interesting. Second of all, because this is useful and important information.

Now, I have four main cautionary points to talk about.

1) Beware! Non-organic Fertilizers
Although you may not know it, a lot of soils actually contain artificial fertilizers, which are not good. I shall have to have a whole post about fertilizer sometime. Anyways, fertilizers often give plants a boost, but using chemicals. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't prefer eating chemicals with my food, especially when studies have shown they have less-than-desired side effects.

2) The Shocking Truth: The Diet of Vegetables
Not all soil is okay for vegetables to grow in, because soil used for flowers sometimes contains chemicals that are even worse for humans to eat. As long as you know the soil in your backyard hasn't been used as a toxic waste dump or anything, you should be fine. This is more for buying bags of soil at the store. Be sure to check the back!

3) Danger Ahead! Direct Contact with Soil
At the store, some bags of soil, although fine to grow vegetables in, have tons of warnings about how to always wear gloves when coming into contact with the soil, and always wash your hands afterwards, and never touch your face. . . If you have pets or children, then you should probably be wary of this type of soil. Also, when you think about it, if a vegetable ends up resting on the dirt, is it okay to eat it, even though you rinsed it? I mean, you were supposed to wash your hands whenever you touched the soil. . . However, I have found bags of soil that are certified and promise they are "clean." This means the organic fertilizers they use are safe to touch, and safe for children and pets to be around. (You can use the less expensive soil, you just have to be careful.)

4) A Word of Warning: The Relationship Between Tomatoes and Manure
In short, tomatoes grow really giant and huge in manure, which is great, until you realize none of your tomatoes are turning red. So, don't grow tomatoes in manure. :)

So, here's our (somewhat devious) gardening post for today!

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://pixabay.com/en/caution-sign-safety-warning-risk-454360/