[ian]

Hi All,
I saw this today on Yahoo and thought it was interesting if not a little frightening , it's about residues found on the fruit and vegetables we buy in our supermarkets, although it does not say where the data comes from, which is a pity, there is an interesting 'modern food ' article associated at the end of the article.

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/10-polluted-fruit-vegetables-230000006.html

[Sive]

And as if that wasn't bad enough, I only heard recently that our humble potato is sprayed with some chemical to stop it sprouting.....I don't understand why that isn't explained on the labelling. It makes me even happier that I'm eating potatoes grown in our garden !

[michael brenock]

Sive The potatoes sold in shops are not to my knowledge sprayed with an a sprout suppressant as they are stored in refrigerated stores.In the sixties and seventies sprout suppressants were used but not any more. The source of this bit of information is not very reliable. I would prefer to eat those potatoes than the organic ones grown with copper sprays and nicotine strips.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[michael brenock]

ian did you know that all fruit and vegetables offered for sale here are subject to regular testing for residues, home grown and imported. I feel reassured by this.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[Sive]

Thanks Michael, I was shocked when I first heard about the sprout suppressant, but how nice to realise the information was wrong, or at least well out of date.
Thanks for the correction.

[ian]

http://www.foodassurance.teagasc.ie/FAOL/assuranceSchemes/irishSchemesandCodes/bordGlasSchemes.htm

Hi Michael, i can't share your sense of reassurrance on food testing, although guidelines and practices are in place (as above) there are no details on surveys that may have been carried out and what they mean statistically, the Fsai site gives no information on vegetable testing at all.
Regards,Ian.

[KernowWarrior]

I'm wondering what else there doing to our fruit. I bought a Honeydew Melon on December 24th 2010, it has been sat on a shelf in my kitchen ever since. I have no intention of eating it now, but it looks a fresh as the day I bought it. Can't be right! The only reason i'm keeping it is to see how long it will last.

[michael brenock]

I dont have confidence in the bord glas quality approval neither. I do have confidence in the Department of agricultures testing for maximium residue levels in fruit and vegetables. They are two different things. What might appear to be excellent quality might be dangerous to eat. Was there some dutch strawberries with a Bord Glas label imported from Holland this summer. How do we know our strawberries are not irradiated?
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[tunnelsofhens10]

Hellow Michael, further to above, are you saying if I spray my potatoes with Bluestone, i.e. roosters, that I"m actually ending up with an inferior spud to a shop-bought one? (I sprayed them twice this year) "I never was happy when I heard the word "Copper and "Bluestone" in the same sentence. What can we do?

[medieval knievel]

that would imply that shop-bought spuds aren't sprayed for blight. you can bet your life they are.

[michael brenock]

bluestone is copper sulphate. Bluestone was approved for use on potatoes by organic growers. Copper sulphate is a very good fungicide. Copper itself is poisonous. The level of copper in a potato may not poison a person but it is the cumulative amount that causes the harm.
michael brenock horticyltural advisor (retired)

[walltoall]

Since someone mentioned 'copper' and 'bluestone' in the same breath that's actually ok because 'bluestone' is the common name for Copper Sulphate (CuSO4) and occurs in nature, even though it can be produced industrially. Fungi of all sorts find it very difficult to grow and do damage in the presence of copper. Blight is a fungus that can develop on the leaves of potato in warm damp conditions. However if the leaves are sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture a molecularly thin layer of CuSO4 laid down on the leaves in the spraying, presents a very hostile growing environment for the blight.

Lest anybody be under any delusions, without CuSO4 Ireland would not be here now. it was the discovery of what i said above around 1850 that allowed Irish farmers to beat the blight in the 2nd half of the 19th cent. Potatoes nurtured the generations who gave us the Ireland your grandparents grew up in and gave us independence. Bluestone is actually part of who we are.

SEPARATELY before this soapbox disintegrates under my fume .. here is an article i wrote last year and forgot to publish. Share it out among yiz and don't be fightin' over the scraps.

Irish Gardeners may want to give some thought to the type of spray they could use in late autumn or during winter to treat fungus pest populations on standing trees shrubs etc. Bordeaux can be used as a spray against potato blight before the flowers appear and is well known for this purpose. The active ingredient is Copper Sulphate served with lime. Bordeaux mixture is effective not only for fungal diseases but is also for stubborn bacterial diseases such as fire blight of pear and apple. Applied in Winter it prevents or eradicates persistent leaf curl NOT associated with aphids. Purchase Bordeaux Mixture "ready to use" at your local garden centre or MAKE YOUR OWN. The process is nearly as simple as making a cup of tea except the ingredients are different. Combine hydrated lime (or any type of finely ground lime) with powdered copper sulphate ("bluestone"). Both materials should be available at farm shops and garden centres. However, some checking about may be needed to locate the bluestone, which is nowadays sold by the sack where it is available. Bordeaux Mixture can be prepared in several strengths. For dormant season application the ratios are 4lbs. lime with 4lbs. bluestone in 50 gallons 0f water. This amount of spray material is considerably more than even a large rural garden would need, though you might consider going into production.

4-4-50 Bordeaux Mixture spray which will eventually give a gallon of spray can be made up as follows:
Dissolve 3tsp bluestone (carefully powdered so there are absolutely no lumps) in a pint of warm water.
Dissolve 3tblsp of hydrated lime in a separate pint of warm water to make a "milk of lime" suspension.
A good idea is to use glass jars so you can be sure (by looking) that there are no granules left.
Strain the contents of both jars into a gallon container through a very fine mesh sieve.
My source says do the sulphate first then the lime. Make up a gallon with warm water.
Filtering removes small bits of lime or sulphate which won't dissolve;
These tiny pieces are the divil for clogging up the spray nozzle!

For best results, use Bordeaux Mixture same day as made and while still warm.
Keep the sprayer agitated so the two ingredients come out together.
Insecticides should not be added to Bordeaux Mixture unless you know what you are doing.
Some uses for Bordeaux Mixture in the dormant season: spray for peach leaf curl, control 'fire blight' on apples and pears, prevent black rot on grapes, black spot on roses, various other fungus nuisances. A single application may not kill off all fungus pests the next season, but working with other growing-season procedures, will make life difficult for the fungal diseases described above.

[michael brenock]

of course shop bought potatoes are sprayed with a chemical but they have to be within the limits laid down and maximum number of sprays not to be exceeded, Potato growers have to conform to very rigid standards and due to cost would prefer to put on a minimum of sprays than maximum. We had organic growing before and during the famine. Burgundy and Bordeaux mixtures were a major breakthrough in the control of fungus diseases. Breeding of more blight resistant varieties has contributed enormously to better crop returns.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[tunnelsofhens10]

Thanks, I feel better about my Bluestone Spud now. Walltoall, my apple and grape thank you! my roses would to if I did"nt kill them all with layers of turf ash, a well, its a poor day that does"nt teach you something new.

[medieval knievel]

copper is used in pipes because of its antibacterial properties. it's why coinage usually has copper in it.
you would fall ill with no copper in your diet, but like everything, too much is bad for you.