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Bindweed

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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,612

    imageBump

  • They are, especially whilst in the hands of companies like Monsanto (see the crosspollination issues where they sue farmers when their GM plants cross with farmers)

    I suppose it comes down to, there is no need to make chemical resistant crops (a bad idea to start with in my eyes) if growers and buyers vary what they produce, I don’t have a link but there was an interview with an organic potato farmer who didn’t use certain fungicides simply because he didn’t grow golden wonder potatoes... with the money he saved not spraying there was very little difference in profit to conventional growers!

    However much I would love to see leguminous tomatoes or more productive staple crops, at the moment I can’t help think GM is shooting itself in the foot a bit.

  • I trained my bindweed up some canes and then smeared a rubber glove with the roundup gel and put it all over  the plant. Had to do it a couple of times but it did work. 

  • Carol 13Carol 13 Posts: 31

    I didn't think that GM crops were approved for sale in the UK or has that changed now?

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,612

    The problem with soya, is that its all GM now. Its used  in so many processed foods  and as a flour improver in bread. You might not even know it's there.

    Dash of Soy sauce in your chinese anyone?

  • just keep deep digging say in January and get every bit of white root out of the soil, keep pulling at the slightest trace of bindweed whenever you see it, avoid  weed killers etc as harmful to wildlife. I never totally eradicate but it can be kept to a minimum.

  • pennypatpennypat Posts: 39

    I a fan of consistent and regular weed pulling not a great fan of weeded killers unless they are ofthetwo legged variety!!! Bind weed is a real pain but if you keep at it it eventually gives up. Keep at it.

  • I just pull bindweed up whenever I see it - that seems to weaken it and I have less now than two years ago.  As for soya, why would you eat it when there are home-grown veg and 'proper' meat to eat?  Mind you, I like a bit of Soya Sauce in my mince sometimes and with a Chinese.

  • smflymansmflyman Posts: 32

    Monsanto started off selling standard and GM soya separately, but the public were not keen on GM so Monsanto mixed the crops at harvest so that the world had to accept a proportion of GM soya. Over 5000 products in a typical supermarket have soya proteins. However, we are all looking the wrong way ..... soya protein does not pose that much of a threat. But the crops enhanced with toxin genes to make them pest resistant are THE threat. The crops kill any caterpillar that tries to graze them, but also pollinators that visit flowers or rest on foliage. There is no way cross-pollination with wild plants can be avoided and so the GM genie gets out the bottle and all our crops needing insect pollination yield less; and so the world ends, with a hungry whimper.

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