If it hit the leaves it likely hit the fruit.

Personally, I would not eat them sprayed so close to harvest.

Sorry to say but I would agree - pitch them. It is absorbed by the plant leaves and kills at the root level. According to their website it is NOT recommended for use in the vegetable garden.

Dave

That's a pretty interesting mixture of chemicals in that bottle.

MCPA...one of the "safer" ones used to kill the broad leaf "weeds".

Dicamba...mostly "safe" but it destroys a lotta plants...esp. beans.

Triclopyr...you definately don't want to eat that in huge amounts. Just because it has a low cancer risk doesn't void the rest of world's warnings about using it on any feed crop for human and animal. kills grass.

Because of the triclopyr you might not want to risk eatting the crops unless you really want to. Because of the other stuff your plants might be suffering.

First I feel for you. I know the feeling on a lesser extent. I'm just south and west about 75 yards of a milo field. Some years when they spray with planes the pilot doesn't shut his spray off till he is past the end which at their speed puts them over my property. I've had drift kill parts of my garden several times. Even so much one morning as I was doing chores before work I had to come in and take another bath. In my case with buildings to block it I just pulled the ones that the foliage dies and maybe a buffer plant next to them. The ones that still look good and healthy I leave and eat. I do spray them good several times and even with a weak soap solution. Guess my question still it why spray the garden. You could spot spray with the right chemicals and never even hurt the plants. I take it he directly sprayed them. I use mulch and don't spray anything in the garden. Just on the outside. But in the past have done test spraying to test it and have never killed anything except with those that are volatile. I did this so I would know what is safe and wouldn't kill others yards, trees, ect.. Even though I'm told and read a chemical isn't volatile and will not vaporize and drift I check them out before large sprayings. Again I feel for your loss of time and know how frustrating it can be. Jay

Ooops. Looks like I posted that info a little too late in the evening for me.

Triclopyr does not kill grass...of course...since it's in a weed killer FOR lawns. Heh.

It's another broad-leaf killer. It's volatile (but not in the micro-organism breaking down volatile such as the other two) and is commonly mixed with petrochemicals (such as kerosene) to stabilize it in larger applications.

Wouldn't even compost them... Sorry...

elkwc

the applicator is responsible for their negligence and should be reported to the KSDA.

Keep in mind that when one reads an MSDS for that product that MCPA, Dicamba, and Triclopyr safety studies reported are done independent of each other. How they may interact together to effect one's health is not reported.

Oh honey I'm sure he was trying to help "weed" your garden, and wasn't being malicious (although I did take a moment to remind hubby that he is to spray nothing in the garden), Toss out the plants, and send him out to buy replacements, I don't see your zone, if you get transplants in ASAP you may still have time.

Hortist,
It is not an easy thing to do. I've never tried to recover damages although I know others who have with very limited results. Others have reported them. It is mainly one sprayer that the trouble is with. They hire pilots I understand so it depends on the pilot. Beyond calling the airport to report it is as far as I have gone up to now. SW winds are dominate here and if they wait till they have a slight breeze from the SW or even still and shut off the chemical on time they never bother my property. If is ever happens as bad again I will notify the sheriff. Their excuse is they have to spray to make a living and I shouldn't live so close to a field. And having been involved in farming and ranching I understand to an extent but I was always taught to respect others. Jay

Sounds like something my helpful husband would do--

obviously I would hope he just sprayed the weeds and grasses in the beds and the toms got a 'little' drift and as they are VERY susceptible to many weed killers they reacted by turning yellow.

I presume a lawn weed killer would contain a contact and systemic formulation but I just don't know how much (if any) would have translocated to the fruit as he really did not spray the plants directly.

You know conventional growers use all sorts of weeds killers on tomatoes (not to mention all the pesticides and fungicides) but I for one don't know what I would do after I was through screaming at my husband. Commercial growers use pre-emergent (systemics) and post-emergent sprays, probably more than one application. I am not saying this makes it "OK" though- they are using chemicals teemed 'safe' for tomatoes. A true worrisome risk is based on an unacceptable level of exposure --maybe this doesn't rise to that level of concern but I can't make that judgement. Certainly the side-effects of chronic exposure or acute exposure to any of these chemicals are very scary to read and makes one think twice even though we are not talking about the same levels of exposure.

I presume if you called Ortho they would (and should) tell you that you have to follow the label quidelines and that leaves you back where you started.

I'm amazed and shocked at how many clueless "Helpful Husbands" were mentioned... I don't have a single male friend who wouldn't realize that any herbicide would kill most garden plants. And I'm not talking "interior decorators guys, either.

On the other hand, I probably wouldn't have a friend who was so clueless as to spray poison on veggies... So maybe my experience is a bit biased.

So my condolences to all who have to suffer from clueless spouses. ;)

It seems to me the EPA is the one who should be notified of spray overdrift. Leaving everything else out of it, it's against the law to contaminate an area surrounding a farm.
I know the EPA arrived on the scene very rapidly when my fuel oil deliverer managed to spill a lot of the stuff on my driveway. I got home to find a back end loader digging out my driveway and adjacent garden bed - they replaced the gravel driveway and put some so-called top soil in the hole that was once a garden and the oil company paid to replace the plants.