Hi. I just moved to a new place last year...and at my old place I had a lot of problems with the soil (spent 3 seasons just prepping the soil....well perhaps I'm also not very adept at it ;-) and then we had to move)
But this new place is amazing...a big piece of land behind the house, and all the backyards are ajoining so it's surrounded by a small little forest in the back (an overgrown abandoned area of the three back neighbours yards).
Plus, The old man who lived here previously was a compulsive gardener (seriously he sounded a bit cooky ;-) so the soil is AMAZING, so rich and dark and crumbly...you could eat the stuff.
I'm just about to start planting...and then a friend tells me not to plant in the ground because of lead?
She says that in cities there is lead in the land (all land) and that Toronto is particularly bad. I thought that was only true if you were ajoining a highway or something? she suggested that I plant in pots instead of in the ground?
Do you guys know anything about lead in the soil? Is she overly paranoid? Or am I in danger of getting lead poisoning from my zuchinis and tomatoes?
But this new place is amazing...a big piece of land behind the house, and all the backyards are ajoining so it's surrounded by a small little forest in the back (an overgrown abandoned area of the three back neighbours yards).
Plus, The old man who lived here previously was a compulsive gardener (seriously he sounded a bit cooky ;-) so the soil is AMAZING, so rich and dark and crumbly...you could eat the stuff.
I'm just about to start planting...and then a friend tells me not to plant in the ground because of lead?
She says that in cities there is lead in the land (all land) and that Toronto is particularly bad. I thought that was only true if you were ajoining a highway or something? she suggested that I plant in pots instead of in the ground?
Do you guys know anything about lead in the soil? Is she overly paranoid? Or am I in danger of getting lead poisoning from my zuchinis and tomatoes?
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Toronto
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Unsu...
Re: Lead?
Mon, May 1, 2006 - 12:01 PMA lot of lead entered into the topsoil during the 50 years that we had leaded gasoline and lots of cars. So cities would get the brunt of it. But I probably wouldn't worry about it. If concerned you can have the soil tested for lead. -
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Unsu...
references
Mon, May 1, 2006 - 12:08 PMgoogling 'lead soil' returns entirely revelant results, including places that will test for you.
Why is lead in soil:
parenting.ivillage.com/baby/b...00.html - answer: cars, factories and leaded paint
Will lead get into my vegetables:
parenting.ivillage.com/baby/b...00.html - not really. the danger is your children playing in soil with lots of lead
Much more detailed page with lead safe practices, such as to plant fruits so that you aren't touching vegetables in the soil and getting lead on your hands then:
www.umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest/lead1.htm
Another highly detailed page:
www.extension.umn.edu/distrib...543.html
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Thanks for such an interesting question. -
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Unsu...
root, leaf, fruit
Mon, May 1, 2006 - 12:12 PMOops, it's not just that you aren't touching the soil, it's that root crops will absorb more lead:
parenting.ivillage.com/baby/b...00.html
But that one says leafy vegetables are OK. The university one says they are not:
"Avoid growing leafy green vegetables and root crops if your children have above normal blood lead levels." -
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Re: root, leaf, fruit
Mon, May 1, 2006 - 6:54 PMwow! thanks for all the links Trog.
I will definitely read all of those tomorrow.
There are fruit trees all around my garden (that the old man who lived here before planted)and a small overgrown plot (almost a forest really) behind it.
I will also have the soil tested and plant sunflowers (which I was told can help)
thanks for all the great advice. -
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Re: root, leaf, fruit
Mon, February 5, 2007 - 10:02 PMAntoine, are you saying that planting sunflowers help with lead? Just curious... that just sounds very interesting. Happy planting to you.
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