My plants were poisoned

[kevokie]

I'm not very happy right now! I went to work yesterday, and my 25 tomato plants in their styrofoam cups looked great. I get home last night and as I get out of the car, I can smell the chemicals that the apt complex puts on their grass every year. I don't think anything of it and as I am walking up to the door, I notice that my plants are really droopy. Well, most of them are anyways. So, I put two and two together and realize that it was really windy yesterday and my little babies probably got some of the fertilizer/herbicide that was put down. They are still droopy today, but I don't know if they will be a total loss. The good news is, the dwarf project plants are still doing good so it seems.

Is there anything that I can do to try and save they little guys? Most of the plants were to go to my wifes grandfather in a couple of weeks. What a bummer....

[Worth1]

You might try to rinse them off and flush them but I doubt it will work, the damage is already done.
If they live the live if they don’t then so be it.
Another thing you can do is to get in touch with the apartment manager and tell them in a nice but firm manner that you don’t appreciate them having the culprits come by without notice to you guys.
You can also get in touch with the weed control folks and tell them the same thing.

I just hate apartments, the owners and managers seem to think they have all of the rights which they don’t here in Texas.

A long time ago I lived in one and they told me they where going to take out $200 for carpet cleaning.
I didn’t live there but during the summer and it was as clean as it was when I moved in.
I told them the law on this. Showed them MY rights (the law) in the book and told them I expected my full deposit back in so and so days or I would see them in small claims court.

They thought I was just a stupid southerner with a southern accent.
In the lawful time I got my FULL deposit back.

Did I tell you I hate apartments?

Worth

[travis]

I believe in Texas that a person paid to spray chemicals for the control of pests and weeds must be a certified applicator and have a license unless grandfathered in before 1990.

I also think in order to become certified and get a license that one must take courses including continuing education where certain rules are taught with regard to spraying herbicides, like you cannot do so when the wind speed exceeds a certain mph, etc.

[Commercial Applicator -- A person who operates a business or is employed by a business that applies restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides to the property of another person for hire or compensation. Commercial applicators must renew annually and obtain five CEUs each year.]

If you can find out whether the spray application was done by a commercial outfit, what the wind speed was at the time of the application, and whether any rules were disregarded, you may have an opportunity to recoup some of your loss if the work crew disregarded any particular regulations.

Licensing and regulation of licensees is done by the Texas Department of Agriculture. http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/progr...channelId=5325

[nctomatoman]

Yes, it is going to be touch and go....I hate when that happens. We don't live in an apartment, but have a neighbor that is very "free" with his chemicals when he does his lawn (despite having two kids, two dogs and a cat, he seems insistent on poisoning the world). His spraying has impacted my plants in the past. It is very angering.

I feel your pain, K - hang in there.

[newatthiskat]

I lost my entire garden 2 years ago due to round-up. Don't get me started on this subject! My plants twisted and turned and rolled up then died. I got 1-2 tough little maters out of all my plants. I feel like posting a no poison sign instead of a no tresspassing sign.
Kat

[ContainerTed]

Those folks who spray also are required to have insurance. File a claim and see what happens. If nothing else, the idiot who did the spraying will be put thru a learning curve.

Ted

[duajones]

That is heartbreaking. I would be devastated and mad as hell

[kevokie]

Well, I am mad, that's a given. I called up the management of the property here to see about getting some kind of notice of when these people are going to be spraying. The lady I spoke to is a "ditz" to say the least, I've dealt with her before. I ask her a question, she puts me on hold, then gets back on and give me no kind of answer other than "they spray every other day in order to keep the grass green." To which I reply, "well, I've lived here for a year and a half and never remember them spraying every other day, that doesn't sound healthy." She then says that it is just fertilizer and that there shouldn't be anything in there that would kill a plant. I state to her that she is full of bull and she doesn't know what she is talking about. That is why there are no "weeds" growing in the grass and it's all bermuda grass. Sheesh...anyways, I've gotten in touch with the landscaping company and they are supposed to contact me tomorrow. They actually sounded kinda concerned about what happened. We shall see what happens from this point. I expect "not a darn thing" will happen.

[Worth1]

If you don't hear from them call them back at 3:30 PM.
There is nothing like a complaint right after evening break.
Trust me on this I have been on the receiving end many times.

Worth

[veggie babe]

I would be devastated if I lost all of my mater plants especially in that manner. Maybe you can plant for a fall crop or find some plants at a nursery. I have seen brandywine sudduth and black krim recently.
Worth only you would think of calling at 330pm, but it does make sense.

neva

[Barbee]

You could go to fusion power's website and price replacement plants. I believe he ships anywhere, and has a wide selection of plants. Then when the landscape company calls you back you have an actual estimate of replacement value in hand.

[Dukerdawg]

My buddy lives in an apartment complex and he lost his entire crop one year a couple of years back. He had carved a plot out his front door and they sprayed the lawn on a windy day and he lost all of his 'full grown' plants. K, I feel your pain, I truly do. Keep us updated on the end results.

Duane

[spyfferoni]

I have a problem with Bindweed and Mallow and I sprayed some weed n' feed stuff on my lawn, and then about a week later I planted some tomatoes. It seems that the weed killer had gotten in the area I planted and I had some very slow growing, twisted and deformed tomato plants for about a month, but they put out new growth and by the end of the season they were doing fine and were healthy plants and produced. They did take longer to set fruit though because of the recovery time. Needless to say----I learned a big lesson! There may still be hope.

Tyffanie

P.S. If anyone knows a trick to get rid of bindweed, let me know. Mallow is a pain with its huge tap roots, but at least it doesn't have some massive underground network like the bindweed. Bindweed is evil!!!

[dice]

[bindweed and mallow]

I have been able to repress bindweed but not kill it around the garden
just by pulling it (and getting a piece of root) everytime I see
it. I keep a small plastic garbage can nearby to throw chunks
of it in, which then goes into the yard waste recycling bin and
off the property. This probably costs me at least an hour a
week during the summer. I throw hunks of root that I unearth
in the spring in there, too.

I am sure it is still there, and soon I will be seeing bits of it
popping up here and there, but it is not nearly as prevalent
around the veggies as it was 3-4 years ago. Giving a piece of
root no leaves for a whole summer slows it down significantly,
and it takes less and less time to deal with it as the years go
by.

Decades ago I completely killed it off a couple of times for
a whole summer with Ortho Kleenup, but I don't use harsh
systemic herbicides like that anymore, especially around
vegetables and berries. It was back the next year anyway,
so now I am just resigned to having to pull a bunch of it
every so often as a regular chore.

I have mallow, too (I actually planted it for an ornamental one
year). I have found that I can minimize new seedlings of it by
cutting the branches on mature plants off before they drop
their seeds in late summer and disposing of them. The earlier
that you pull new ones in spring, the easier they are to get out,
too. I still have a couple of spots where I let a few plants of it
mature every year, because it is a big, sturdy, nice-looking
flowering plant in mid-summer, but those are far from the
veggies.

[Polar_Lace]

Hi dice,

You do know that most mallow/hibiscus are edible garnishes right? So you can put some on you plate tonight to look pretty, and then eat them along with your salad.

When I lived in NYS, a cute little girl (from next door) asked me for some of "my pretty flowers," I told her that I couldn't give her any right now because those flowers belonged to a certain vegetable that becomes an Okra.

She was plenty disappointed, but I let her take other ones home "to Her Mommy." I even put them in a milk carton vase; which I made right in front of her eyes. She said that it was a neat idea for making vases from old stuff. I told her the word is called recycling. So then she understood what it was I was doing.
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kevokie,

I'm so sorry for your loss. That BITES!! I'm glad that you're able to maintain your cool. Me, I would've let my temper get the better of me! My mouth always gets in gear before I can think in a rationale way.

Maybe there is someone here at Tomatoville that can help you with more tomato plants at this time.
I can't right now, as some of my plants got frosted and bit the dust.

If there are some people that can send you some, tell them to put price tags on them; or make price tags yourself.

They sell price tags like that at any Family Dollar Store, Walmarts etc. If you can't find them let me know, I have plenty to spare. They look like a little piece of white cardboard with a string attached.

Write the tags up with a permanent marker or very dark pencil. Place tags on cut down green bamboo sticks or prepacked chop sticks. (I get the prepacked chop sticks, 10 sets for a dollar at WM.)
You can also use those wooden crafting dowels they sell cheaply in the crafting section at WM's.

~* Robin