Getting Into Gardening

Many of us do not garden year-round and so in the fall it is time to put away all the garden paraphernalia until next spring. If that is you, be sure you always store fertilizers and pesticides in their original containers.

I am not pointing fingers here, there was a time when I was just as guilty of improper storage practices as anyone. If you happened to find yourself in my garden shed years ago, it would look a lot different than it does today. Back then, I’m sorry to say, the shelves were a storehouse for every pesticide, herbicide, fungicide and fertilizer a gardener like me, in pursuit of the perfect landscape, would have on hand to handle any real or potential problem.

With age often comes wisdom, and over the years I’ve come around 180 degrees and my desire for the picture-perfect garden has long since waned, yielding to more enjoyable and earth-friendly ways. Now my shed is not only cleaner, it’s safer too.

Unfortunately, in our haste, we sometimes forget that improperly stored chemicals can have lethal consequences. Perhaps you know of a case firsthand. A child poisoned because she drank from a familiar container such as a soda bottle, coffee cup or glass jar; something they thought contained juice, soda or milk. Instead, it was being used improperly to hold a pesticide. Sadly, the results can be fatal.

An extreme case, but unfortunately, it happens all too frequently. I’ve personally known of several such instances. What makes stories like this even harder is that they were easily preventable. In no case should any chemical be stored, even for a moment, in a container other than the one it originally came in. Fortunately, there are several precautions we can take to ensure accidents like those described don’t happen under our watch.

Always follow storage instructions listed on packaging and labels and keep the national Poison Control phone number handy. It is 1 (800) 222-1222. The following are some suggestions from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• Always store pesticides in their original containers. In addition to the proper identification of the contents, important safely information specific to that product is listed on the container. Such information includes what to do if accidental poisoning takes place, emergency contact numbers and necessary first aid steps.

• Keep pesticides stored out of reach of children and pets. When possible, store them in a locked but ventilated cabinet. Even if you don’t have children, you never know when a curious person may happen upon them. Be safe and take the path of caution.

• Pesticides should never be stored in the same location as food, medical supplies or animal feed.

• Use child-resistant packaging correctly. Be sure to close containers tightly and properly after use. Just because a product says ‘resistant’, that does not make if child-proof. These products should receive the same care and caution when storing as any other.

• Don’t stockpile chemicals. Only buy what you will use that session or season. The less pesticide remaining after it is needed, the lower the risk of accidents.

• Pesticides should be stored away from places where flooding is possible or where spills or leaks could run into drains, surface water or water sheds.

• Never store pesticides in the application equipment. To avoid the problem of having excess product, only mix what is needed for that application. If excess mixture remains after application, apply where appropriate to other parts of your property.

Following these suggested guidelines will go a long way towards protecting others from unwanted accidents and unintentional poisonings.

I’ve managed to do a pretty good job over the years eliminating chemicals from my garden shed. Yet despite my best efforts, they tend to keep showing up. I’ve accumulated pesticide containers from a prior gardening life, inherited my dad’s collection when he moved and even uncovered a stockpile after moving into my current home.

It’s scary to think how many people are out there like me…or worse (at least in this case). I really have worked hard to properly dispose of the chemicals that I will never use again. But it’s amazing how quickly they add up. Collectively I can only imagine how many leftover containers are sitting around the sheds, garages, and landfills of the world!

In our very busy and time-starved lives, it would be easy to pour the excess liquids out into the street or down a drain. But we know better than that, don’t we? Pesticides poured into the street feed directly into storm drains which feed into streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. When pesticides reach waterways, they can harm fish, plants and other living things.

Similarly, they should never be poured down the sink, tub, toilet, or into the sewer or street drain. Pesticides can interfere with the operation of wastewater treatment systems and many municipal systems are not even equipped to remove all pesticide residues.

So, what can we do to dispose of chemicals properly and safely? According to the EPA, it is suggested the best way to dispose of small amounts of excess pesticides is to use them, apply them (according to the directions on the label) or give them to your neighbor so they can use them to treat a similar pest control problem. Although this is certainly a valid way to consume the product, I find it hard to suggest using more pesticide chemicals in your landscape simply to use it up.

Don’t toss your hazardous waste in the garbage - dispose of it for free in San Marcos! The City of San Marcos hosts collections for household hazardous waste for Hays County residents twice per week at the City Hall traffic yard (634 East Hopkins - Across from the big HEB) on Tuesday and Friday from noon until 3:30 p.m. This is only for residential waste - no commercial waste is accepted. Also, there is a telephone number that you can call to find information and sites for recycling and disposing of hazardous household waste. The number is 1-800-CLEANUP. An automated recording will guide you through the process and the number is accessible 24/7.

Of course, you can always (and should always) read the product label for disposal information. However, be aware that state and/ or local laws may be more restrictive than the Federal requirements listed on the label. You should check days this meant going to a School of Broadcasting. He became an Idaho disc jockey, and then a Daytona, Florida TV weatherman.

“They gave me a crash course in meteorology, it was a three day course. Radar was just beginning in TV. It was nothing like today. There were lots of false echoes. When I asked about false echoes, they told me to go outside and check,” Gardner laughingly said.

He had offers to return to L.A. and landed a job at K-RTH or K-earth, a top 40 station. “Owned by RKO Pictures at the time, they were great to work for,” he said and being in Los Angeles, various Voice Over jobs for promos, movies and TV were his. He became the voice of the CBS network. He has lent his voice to movie trailers also. Such as the movie “Back to School” or Stephen Spielberg’s “Young Sherlock Holmes” or Robin William’s “Club Paradise.”

“Since the late 1990s, technology has advanced to where one does not have to be in the same location to do Voice Overs.” Radio downsized their staffs and Gardner moved to Wimberley, having heard about it from friend Phil McKeon. Gardner’s son lives in Austin and it was perfect to be able to move close and still do voice over work.

At the present he does numerous voice overs, even a news promo for a Nashville, Tennessee TV Channel.

Even if you are travelling across the country, when you turn on the TV, that just might be Jay Gardner of Wimberley, Texas, telling you to tune into the news.