Eliminating Allergenic Mold Spores In Your Gardens
By Tom Ogren, Fri Dec 9th
Eliminating Allergenic Mold Spores in Your Gardens ÓThomas Leo Ogren Tiny mold spores cause plenty of allergies. Often our gardensare full of molds but luckily there are many things we can do toeliminate allergy-causing mold spores. All molds produce tinyreproductive spores and the trick is to find ways to get rid ofthe molds themselves. What we plant, and where, has a largeinfluence. I continually see the flat out dumb practice ofplanting tall evergreen trees and shrubs on the South sides ofhouse. In the winter the sun is low on the horizon and we getmost of our light, and warmth, from the sunlight that shinesfrom the South. Our warm morning light comes from the East andit is never a good idea to block that with tall evergreenseither. The best place for tall evergreens is on the North sideof our houses. There they can act as a windbreak and not rob usof any needed winter sunlight. A house with tall evergreentrees on the Southeast side, is one that will always be cold,and damp, in the winter months. And cold and damp is exactlywhat mold thrives on. Recently I was at a store, standingoutside waiting for a friend of mine to finish up inside. It wasa cool wintry day and I was in the full, deep cold shade of avery large Canary Island Pine tree. I walked over about thirtyfeet and stood in a spot, in between the trees where the sun wasshining through. There it was nice and warm. To my left was thebig pine shading that store, and just to my right was anotherhuge evergreen tree, a Ficus retusa, the Indian Laurel Fig. Thebig fig cast a shade even deeper, and colder, than did the pine.I looked down at the sidewalk to my left and right, and sureenough, you could see mold growing in the cracks and along theedges. The north side of the trees, where I was, also had a gooddeal of mold growing on the tree leaves themselves. Deciduoustrees are perfect for these locations. In the hot summer theywill be all leafed out and will cool down the buildings behindthem. In the cold winter months they will be bare of leaves, andthe low sunlight will come through and warm things up. In thisday and age of exploding energy costs, it is just plain ignorantto plant evergreens where they don't belong. For stopping moldspores, deciduous trees on the South-Eastern exposures is theonly way to go.
Mulches Many people seem unclear on just exactly what is amulch. Very simply, a mulch is anything that covers the soil.They can be made of old leaves, straw, rocks, bark, gravel,boards, bricks, even plastic. Mulches are almost always a verygood idea but when it comes to mulches and molds, they aren'tall created equally. Bark is a very good material on which togrow mold. Gravel mulches are good because they don't encouragemold growth. I like smooth gravels, river gravel, and please! Nowhite gravel. Flat stones and pavers work well for this too andin the right spot, they look good as well. Mulch holds downweeds and cuts down on summer water loss. Earthworms oftenthrive under mulch and in general mulches usually help plantsgrow better. The one spot where mulches are less effective is inthose cold, always shaded areas. Here mulch will keep the soilfrom ever warming up. Every where else though, mulch is useful. Newspaper mulches by the way, not only look trashy, they alsogrow lots of mold. Buggy Plants and Mold Plants that are not being grown right willusually get infested with insects. The insects secrete"honeydew" and on this very nutrient rich gooey substance moldsgrow quickly. The molds then start producing spores and prettysoon there is a serious allergy situation in the landscape. Theinsect dander itself is highly allergenic and just adds to theproblem. Buggy plants often look dirty and this is because theyare covered with honeydew, mold, and yuck! They are dirty.Clean, healthy plants are what we want in our yards. Why Are the Plants Covered With Insects? If a tree is nativeto the cold, damp forests of Japan or Minnesota, it just won'tthrive in a place like Los Angeles. It certainly might grow inLos Angles though, and that's the problem. It will grow therebut it won't thrive. Because it doesn't have the conditions itneeds it will always be somewhat weakened, and pests always preyon the weak. Remember, insect pests equal mold spores. If anarea is very deficient in fertilizer the plants there won'tthrive. As they grow weaker, the insects start to prey on them. If plants are getting far too much fertilizer they will alsobecome weak. If a tree is a type that needs regular water inthe summer but never gets it, again it will become weak and soonbe a target for the white flies, aphids, scale, spider mites,and mealybugs. If shrubs or trees are native to an area withacid soil and you're growing them in alkaline dirt, sure enoughthey'll probably become bug infested. If a tree is simply nottolerant of urban smog and it is planted right smack in themiddle of a great metropolis, it will draw the pests. If a rowof shrubs are all the kind that loves bright sunshine, butsomeone has planted a fast-growing tree over them, perhaps apine, when the whole row of shrubs is now growing in deep shade,if they live, they will certainly become an insect magnet. Iknow of a hedge just like this near where I live. A large oldhedge of lantana, now shaded by a big pine, it is literallycovered top to bottom in white flies and mold. It is growingright outside the back entrance to a health clinic! There aremany other cultural reasons for plants not to thrive and any oneof them can result in weak plants and mold. A Word to the Wise on Natives Judicious use of natives isoften one of the very best ways to avoid many of these weakplants-mold problems. However, make sure the "natives" you buyare endemic to your own particular area. Also, make sure you'renot getting a bunch of male ( pollen- producing ) clones. Manyof the native trees, shrubs, and ground covers sold now are maleclones. Air Flow In every place there are prevailing winds. The breezegenerally blows mostly from one direction. Many landscapes areso plugged up, so crowded, that the breeze simply can'tpenetrate the mess. A landscape with no air flow is one wheremolds will thrive. Molds grow best in conditions with poor aircirculation. If your own yards are over-grown and choked forlack of fresh air, then get out the pruning saw and startthinning them out. Clean, fresh air, free to move about, equalsless mold and fewer mold spores. Sunlight and Molds Bright light and fresh air are the enemiesof mold. Many landscapes have huge trees overhead that let inlittle light. Consider hiring a tree trimmer to thin out some ofthe branches overhead. Open the trees up so that the sunlightcan come through. Perhaps it would be a good idea to actuallyremove a tree or two if they're growing too close. Let the lightshine! When planting any new tree, consider the shade that itwill cast when it is full-grown. Certain trees always developvery thick canopies while others will be light and airy. Watering and Irrigation Perhaps as important as any othersingle mold factor is the watering. Too little water makes forweak plants that attract insects. Too much water will alsoalways produce weak plants. Automatic irrigation systems, onclocks, are responsible for a great deal of mold growth.Allergists in desert areas often find very high mold sporecounts, in the middle of the summer! Much of this is beingdirectly caused by irrigation systems that are not beingmonitored closely enough. Often they are set to irrigate lawnsthat are already still soggy from the last watering.Over-watered lawns will quickly become mold factories and willshower everyone near them with an abundance of mold spores. Plant Diseases and Spores Many pests of
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our plants are notinsects but are fungal type diseases such as mildew, rust, blackspot, scab, and leaf blight. These organisms also produceallergenic airborne spores. The very best way to avoid thesediseases and their spores is by planting disease resistantplants. The second most valuable approach is to keep plantsgrowing cleanly and strongly. Insect-attacked plants will oftenlater be attacked by fungus diseases, and visa-versa. Healthyplants go a long way to keeping our air clean. Certain plantsif grown in the wrong area can almost be counted on to harbordisease. Evergreen viburnum growing in the shade will certainlyget moldy and full of mildew. Crape Myrtle trees grown in anarea that doesn't have hot summers will always have mildew. Acold, wet spring frequently brings out a huge flush of bothmildew and anthracnose on the leaves of California Sycamoretrees. In areas with cool, foggy nights and warm days, rustwill surely grow on any roses, hollyhocks, or snapdragons thatare not rust-resistant. Most roses grown in too much shade willquickly mildew. Actually almost any plant that thrives in fullsun will run into problems in too much shade. Insecticides and Fungicides When you see a plant covered withinsects or fungus, fight the urge to go get out the chemicalsprays. Many chemical sprays will themselves trigger allergies.They may also weaken your immune system. A shrub full ofinsects can often be helped immensely by just blasting off thebugs with a strong jet of water from the garden hose. Spidermites on plants can also often be brought under control withthis same stiff spray of water. Many insect pests can be killedwith a simple, non-toxic homemade spray of vegetable oil, water,and liquid dish soap. For a gallon of water add two tablespoonsof vegetable oil and two to four tablespoons of soap. I likeIvory Liquid. For fungus diseases spay them with a mix ofbaking soda and water. I use from two to six tablespoons ofbaking soda per gallon of water, depending on how bad theinfestation of disease is. This often needs to be repeated allsummer long. The baking soda will also kill some aphids. If youlike you can just add some baking soda to the insecticide mix ofsoap and oil and have an all-around insecticide-fungicide spraymix. Do not expect these homemade sprays to be just aseffective as the most powerful chemical killers. Often they'renot. But they do work and they are much safer and a whole lotless likely to cause allergies. IPM This stands for Integrated Pest Management and one of thebasic themes of IPM is that we are not looking to eliminateinsect pests, just to control them. Using beneficial insectssuch as ladybugs, mealy bug destroyers, tiny parasitic wasps,and green lacewings is always worth a try. It would beworthwhile for any gardener interested in allergy control toread a book or two on organic pest control. Ants, Aphids and Scale Ants will farm out aphids and scale andwill protect them from their natural predators. When the aphidsand scale have ruined one part of a plant, the ants will movethem to another fresh spot. Frequently we can't seem to get ridof the insects because there are so many ants on the trees andto kill the ants I use a slow-acting but effective mix ofpowdered sugar and borax. Look for the borax in a box in thegrocery store where they sell laundry products. Mix the sugarand borax fifty-fifty. Sometimes I like to flood the area underwhere the ants are thick with a hose and then when they're allover the place, I sprinkle the sugar and borax mix. A few typesof ants don't much care for sugar and for these try mixing cornmeal and borax. This bait mix will also kill some other gardenpests such as slugs, earwigs and roaches. I have also had goodluck killing ants with a mix of non-dairy creamer and borax.Cockroaches by the way, inside the house cause plenty ofallergies and the best way to kill them is with a mix of boricacid and powdered sugar as a bait. Sprinkle this powder downwhere the roaches will walk through it. You can buy boric acidin almost any drug store. These baits are cheap, safer thanother poisons, and they work. Out in the yard don't put thesebaits where the dog will eat them. Sometimes it works well tohide them under old boards or flat rocks. A Note aboutFerns Ferns don't produce mold spores but they sure can producefern spores. Often these spores from the ferns can be just asallergenic as the mold spores. Fern spores usually shoot out andland fairly close to the fern. Small ferns growing in a shadypart of the garden rarely trigger much allergy. But people loveto grow ferns in hanging baskets and then they often hang theseover patio chairs, tables, right where someone will be sitting. When these overhead ferns cast off their miniscule spores, theywill land directly on the unsuspecting victim underneath.Hanging basket ferns are fine, but watch where you hang them! Tree ferns are handsome creatures but again we need to watchwhere we plant them. All too often they are planted right nextto front doors where with their added height, they can showerspores on the people coming and going. Another considerationwith tree ferns is that they have millions of tiny reddish-browncolored, needle-sharp hairs on their trunks. These little fernhairs can make you itch and they can also cause plenty ofirritation of the throat and nose when they're inhaled. Planttree ferns back away from most human traffic. Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten SpeedPress. About the author:Thomas Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten SpeedPress. Tom does consulting work on landscape plants andallergies for the USDA, county asthma coalitions, and theCanadian and American Lung Associations. He has appeared on HGTVand The Discovery Channel. His book, Safe Sex in the Garden, waspublished in 2003. In 2004 Time Warner Books published: What theExperts May NOT Tell You About: Growing the Perfect Lawn. Tomlecture
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