gardening in zone 4
The pea bioassay is in full swing. A few of the pots did not germinate so I may have to repeat that but it looks like most pots are healthy. Here are two examples. Can you tell which one is contaminated? The first picture is peas grown in manure from the manure pile near the vegetable garden mixed with some potting soil. The second is from the south pasture. Fortunately early indications are that the contamination is mostly localized around the manure.
I have learned a lot more about the herbicide contamination at the farm. It turns out that the previous owner purchased hay grown near Wheatland, ND in the Fall and Winter of 2010. This was ditch hay. I confirmed with the county weed control office that they sprayed Tordon 22k (8 oz/acre) and Overdrive, a dicamba product (4 oz/acre) that year. The horses were restricted to the barn area and the east pasture. In order to determine the extent and amount of contamination I took soil samples from the garden area, the manure piles and a grid of sites in the east and south pastures. I have planted peas in these samples and will let them sprout to see if they show signed of herbicide damage. This should allow me to figure out where the herbicides are located. On a positive note I do see dandelions growing in part of the east pasture and clover is growing all over the lawn around the house. This would indicate that the herbicide is not present in those locations.
