And I am glad you aren’t using chemicals like Roundup. It is just a terrible danger to all of us, and very hard that we have no way of stopping our neighbors from using it and subjecting us to toxic trespass. At least we can choose not to use it ourselves, and to tell everyone we care about to stop using this bad stuff.

Thanks again for stopping by.

The USDA classifies soil as organic after it has been pesticide free for 3 years. Unfortunately, they are notoriously lax about their definitions and regulations and organic just doesn’t mean what it used to.

I do not have an answer as to how long your ground will be contaminated now that your workers have stopped using Roundup. If it’s been used for years on your land, my guess is that it would be many years before the chemicals and chemicals into which they break down would disappear from the ground. This is the tragedy of herbicide and pesticide use…it poisons soil for future generations.

I wish I had more definite or happier information for you. You are right to be concerned about the toxicity of your land, now that it is has been contaminated with herbicide, and even more importantly, the health of you family, now that you have been exposed to these carcinogenic toxins. I am very, very sorry that this happened to you.

My suggestions for your future safety would be to replace your yard workers with skilled organic maintenance people who understand that poison is not to be used on your land or around your family. Your health and your ability to grow food for your family is much too precious to put at risk for the sake of a dandelion-free lawn.

Good luck, and thank you for taking the time to share your story, Judy.

My question is, now that we have replanted two other trees to replace the others, will they come in contaminated (apple and grapefruit)? How long does the soil need to heal? What do you recommend to kills weeds?

Thanks for your website — I was looking for real organic sweet pickle relish and thought Cascadian was good. I can’t stand what Whole Foods as pulled off (running down Wild Oats and taking them over) and now ripping off the consumer w/extraordinarily high prices and crappy quality! But now that they’re run out the competition, it stinks! Will hunt a few items down at Trader Joes but also must watch what they bring in as well. We definitely support our local farmers for produce. What a “pickle” we’re in throughout the U.S. Thanks, Judy