Released Dec. 31, 2007
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - While most plants go dormant in the winter, the chemicals that many people use for gardening remain active. That's why a Texas Cooperative Extension horticulturist urges people to winterize pesticide storage areas.
"Now is the perfect time to prepare a safe holding area for these materials," said Don Wilkerson, Extension horticulturist and EarthKind advocate. "This is important for environmental protection, human and pet safety, and for maintaining the effectiveness of the chemicals and fertilizers."
He said EarthKind is Extension’s program for focusing on environmental stewardship in the urban landscape. Wilkerson said a storage area for lawn and garden chemicals should be:
– Secure from children and pets.
– Well ventilated.
– Lit well for product label reading.
– Dry and not prone to flooding.
– Large enough to separate spacing for herbicides, insecticides and fertilizer.
– Enclosed so that spills can be quickly cleaned.
– Protected from temperature extremes. He also noted that flammable liquids should be stored outside living areas and away from any potential ignition sources. An attached garage, for example, may not be the best place for this type of product.
Chemicals should be kept in the original container, Wilkerson added, and never mixed in an empty food container.
"An updated storage inventory allows for keeping track of what has been placed in storage and also helps in planning purchases when spring arrives," he said. "Make a record of the product name, active ingredient, date of purchases and date/volume stored."
Storage problems can be minimized, Wilkerson suggested, if a person uses the list to plan ahead – buying only the amount of product that is needed for a season.
"Small containers that seem expensive may actually be the most economical over time if larger amounts do not have proper storage," he explained.
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http://agnews.tamu.edu/showstory.php?id=239
Contacts: Don Wilkerson, (979) 458-4433, d-wilkerson@tamu.edu
Kathleen Phillips, (979) 845-2872,ka-phillips@tamu.edu
