200 Billion Daddy Long Legs and Would You Take Cuttings from a Garden Centre?

Apparently there are over 200 billion daddy long legs hatching out this week. Most of them seem to be trying to get through our kitchen window. 

 

These harmless wafting insects, sometimes called crane flies are a real boost to feeding wildlife as the summer ends. The warm, humid weather has been perfect for them to flourish. The young leatherjackets from where they emerge in the ground can cause a bit of damage to grass roots, but I’ve never really seen much damage being done.  I think the payoff is pretty small when you think how much nutrition they are giving to overwintering animals and birds and even me. I might have even eaten a few this year as well. We can think ourselves lucky these billions of flying insects are not the angry unemployed wasps or mosquitoes; we would be in trouble then.

Talking of things appearing in large quantities, I see the small plastic balls we get in cosmetics and bathroom products are being banned next year, called microbeads.

What are microbeads?

Commonly called ‘Microbeads’, these are tiny pieces of plastic that are added to everyday cosmetic products face wash, toothpaste, abrasive cleaners and lots more. They are most frequently made of polyethylene but can be of other petrochemical plastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene. Microbeads are usually smaller than 5 millimetres in size.

There can be over 100,000 of the small things going down the sink after just one wash. Trillions of these small plastic balls contribute to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that enters the sea every year.

 The plastic is so small it can get through the filtering systems and ends up being eaten by marine life and then back onto our dinner plates. I’m pretty sure that this started off as a waste product until someone had the bright idea to put it in cosmetics. The same principal as fluoride, it’s cheaper to put it in the water than dispose of it safely. 

What did we do before this plastic was added? I hear you say.

We’ll go back (hopefully) to natural alternatives.  Exfoliating the skin is big business and there’s no reason why you can’t add your own abrasives that are safe and cheap to buy or grow. 

For Light Exfoliation

For a more sensitive skin type, you are going to want something that is soft and rounded. Some good options are whole oats that are preferably finely ground up or straight baking soda which is naturally soft and fine. If your skin is oily, go with the oatmeal as it will also help to absorb excess oil in your skin. Honey and yogurt work but you might be tempted to eat it.

For Mild Exfoliation

You’ll want to look for an ingredient that is a little bit tougher but still rounded. Ground up almond or walnut shells will work. If you have a nut allergy, jojoba beads are a safe alternative. Another good choice in the “mild” category is coffee grinds. Raspberry and blackberry seeds work too.

For Strong Exfoliation

Options in this category are sugars like white cane sugar, brown sugar, or even raw sugar mixed with olive oil.

There are probably a lot more things you can use and I’ll think they are all a better alternative to little plastic balls.

Ethical Question

Would you take plant cuttings from a garden centre?

 Would you pick a few tips from plants when you are visiting a public or private garden? How about when you are walking in a public park or past a council summer planter?  Would you be tempted? Old Percy Thrower in the 1970’s closed his doors to the public after most of his plants were stripped. One visitor said she didn’t think her one cutting would be noticed. Times that by 100,000 (see my large numbers theme going on here) and you will see that your one cutting will be the tip of a rather large issue.  After working for the council parks department and growing plants I know just how problematic it can be.  One garden is stolen from every eight minutes apparently and I’ll bet that statistic isn’t taking cuttings into consideration. The thefts will be more like lawnmowers and ornaments.

I’ll admit do taking the odd cutting. I was young, which is no excuse really. My enthusiasm for building up my houseplant collection when I was a teenager outweighed my financial situation. I just snipped the odd leaf or stem of a tradescantia from the garden centres. i don’t even think about taking cuttings now but I will deadhead spent flowers when I see them. Nipping tips off is a hard habit to break.

Feelings can run very high on the subject and most see even taking one geranium cutting as stealing, just as much so as clearing the shed out of tools. Someone on a forum thinks taking cuttings without permission the worst kind of stealing "because gardeners should live on a higher ethical plane" I’m not sure about that but it sounds good.