Jun 25 2008
How Does Your Garden Grow? Hopefully Not With a PVC Hose
Even if you try to grow organic produce in your garden, you could be tainting it with lead from your garden hose.
PVC is what’s typically used to make garden hoses, as well as the brass nozzles on hoses, and in producing PVC, lead is often added as a stabilizer.
The hot sun can make thing even worse because heat can cause hoses to leach even higher levels of lead. Experts recommend flushing the water out of a hose that’s been sitting before using it.
Or you can just avoid the issue altogether by using a special hose (like those commonly used by RV and boat owners) that don’t contain lead and are deemed safe for drinking water.
Thanks in part to this lawsuit, packaging for garden hoses should now indicate if they are safe for drinking. In addition, warning labels on any hoses that can cause exposure above the standard carry a prominent warning label reading, “Do not drink water from this hose. Wash hands after use.”
If you can’t find a drinking safe garden hose at a retailer near you, you can buy one online here. That way, your hard gardening work won’t get washed down the drain.
Green Festival™ hits Washington, D.C., November 8 & 9 at the Washington Convention Center, and San Francisco, Calif., November 14, 15 & 16 at the Concourse Exhibition Center.
Green Festival is a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, is akin to a walk through a sustainable community.
The festival features more than 125 renowned authors, leaders [...]
If you’ve ever contemplated going vegan, now’s the time during World Go Vegan Days, which started October 25 and run through October 31.
Created by In Defense of Animals (IDA), World Go Vegan Days is an annual event to educate people about the vegan lifestyle. During World Go Vegan Days, IDA encourages people to become conscious of what [...]
Fall is my favorite time of year for many reasons (my wedding anniversary is in October, I love Halloween–scary movies in particular, we adopted our dog in October, the trees are pretty, the air is crisp and clean, etc.).
Plus, I start seeing one of my favorite types of produce in the stores this time of [...]
Don’t know beans about beans? Never fear!
Here’s a quick lesson on beans, which pack quite a powerful healthy punch (they are high in protein, and may also help protect against heart disease, diabetes, and obesity).
Kidney Beans (pictured above)
These red beans are often found in chili and contain almost as much antioxidant power as wild blueberries.
Navy [...]
Leave it to New York City to not only host one of the coolest foodie events ever, but also provide the backdrop for the ever-addictive “Top Chef” on Bravo.
But before we talk boob tube, let’s talk festival.
Thursday, October 9, through Sunday, October 12, The Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival takes a [...]
gosh, now what are the kids gonna do? all the bottles and sippy cups were leaching the bad junk so i was sending them to drink out of the hose. this is really bad news.