Just had a fb link from a friend about another growing system using PVC piping and containers and I thought I might write a little bit to give my view on these and hopefully warn and dissuade people from using them.
This
is similar to a lot of other growing 'systems' I've seen. I don't like
this method of growing though it obviously grows a lot of food. They're being touted by a lot of urban growers as a solution to our food growing non-crisis.
The
reason I don't like these methods is because they all use large amounts
of PVC. As an organic grower I have major concerns over PVC. PVC breaks
down and releases microparticles which are POPs
(persistant organic pollutants). Not mentioned in the wiki is that PVC
also breaks down further to vinyl chloride and this is extremely toxic.
In short, it's not good anywhere near your food. If the car manufacturers are removing PVC you can be fairly sure they know it's toxic and are trying to avoid a liability issue. Why would you use it near your food? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_chloride...
I've found that overly technical solutions rarely work. I prefer growing in the
soil and encouraging soil health - seems more natural to me. If people want good clean food I recommend they move to the country and grow their food organically in the sweet soil and if you do it right, and with care for nature, she will reward you with abundance.
