Tuesday, December 24, 2019

What is this thing?


The National Garden Bureau has introduced a charming little fruit for gardeners. But what exactly is it?
Is it a cucumber? Is it a melon? This adorable fruit looks like a watermelon for fairies, but it tastes like a cucumber with tangy citrus overtones. Loads of tiny, one-inch fruits appear on vigorous vines. Delicious eaten fresh from the garden as snacks or in salads, you can also pickle these cuties to enjoy later. If you garden with kids, make sure to add Cucamelon to your beds. Also known as a mouse melon, this fruit makes an ideal addition to tea parties with fairies.
It looks like something my granddaughter would enjoy growing!

Monday, December 23, 2019

Current Data Shows Glyphosate Is Not Linked to Cancer


Weed spraying


According to Jason Ferrell, director of the Pesticide Information Office with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS),  "Currently, the data we have does not seem to indicate that glyphosate causes cancer. So we still believe that it can be used as an effective part of an integrated pest management strategy and plan.”
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup®, one of the world's most popular herbicides. However, since 2015 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, as a probable carcinogen, public concerns have intensified. Many other agencies around the world began studying its safety.
So far, “All of the other world agencies — and there have been several — have not classified it as a probable carcinogen and they don’t believe there is a clear link between glyphosate and cancer with the current data that we have," says Ferrell.
The bottom line, then, is that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is the only world agency that classifies glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, in stark contrast to the study results from all the others.