Post by guest blogger Bonita Poulin.
When Deborah and Paul Barrie’s home and garden were found to be contaminated by arsenic and other toxins due to a neighbour burning scraps of CCA pressure treated wood, plastic and other garbage for years, they decided to clean it up. This was no small task, and very expensive as well, but they felt they had no choice. Deborah has extreme chemical sensitivities and could not safely go outside to enjoy her own yard so they decided to do some major renovations there as well.
To accomplish this, they wet the lawn to keep dust down and then wet peeled to remove the first three inches of toxic grass and topsoil as well as all other vegetation in their yard. It took truckloads of bags of organic topsoil, peat moss and sand to replace what was removed. Then they planted an exquisite array of colorful perennials and they maintain it all organically.
Anyone who is concerned about how to keep a garden without using toxic fertilizers and pesticides should check out these pictures!
Bonita Poulin is an activist in the MCS community and is the Canadian coordinator for MCS-Global, an organization dedicated to MCS awareness based in Australia.
If you enjoyed this post, you might like these related stories:
