Sometimes I really wonder why we are still using the word ‘toxic’ in relation to horticulture. Almost every week there is another newspaper headline about the use of ‘toxic chemicals’ on flowers or vegetables. With a single word, an entire sector is portrayed as spraying hazardous substances all day long. And frankly, that is increasingly annoying me.
I’ve spent a lifetime among plants. Here in Kenya, too, my morning starts with a stroll through the greenhouse, checking how the plants are doing. A discoloured leaf, an aphid that suddenly appears out of nowhere or a fungus emerging after a few damp days. Believe me, these things can keep me up at night. You just want your plants to be healthy.
If possible, we solve problems organically; we introduce predatory mites or useful insects and try to make the plant as resilient as possible, so that it can defend itself. We invest more in this every year, not because someone is forcing us, but because we want it ourselves, too. Sometimes, however, this isn’t enough, and that’s where the ‘toxic’ debate starts.
