Gardening with Alpha-gal Syndrome

Gardening with Alpha-gal syndrome might not be on your mind when you’re initially diagnosed. At first, you’re simply trying to figure out how to navigate what to eat and probably what to wear, not to mention your medications. Many of our medications in the U.S. have mammal in them, and we can be very allergic to some ingredients.

But, if you’re a gardener, trying to garden with Alpha-gal syndrome will soon become important to you. As I explained to the Two Alpha Gals on an episode of their In the Tall Grass podcast, I can’t stop gardening. Gardening is my life.

To learn more about this tick-borne disease, here’s another recent article about Alpha-gal syndrome by Sage Scott. Also, look at Alpha-gal Information, a project of Alpha-gal Alliance.

Spoiler: Alpha-gal is becoming an epidemic.

First, prevent tick bites.

If you already have Alpha-gal syndrome, you must prevent more tick bites. Some people write in various online groups that they already have AGS, so why does it matter if they get bitten again? More tick bites can increase sensitivity and cause more severe reactions.

The best way to prevent tick bites is to wear permethrin-bonded clothing or spray permethrin from companies like Sawyer onto shoes and clothes and let them fully dry. Bonded clothing from companies like Insect Shield lasts for the life of the clothing. If you decide to go this route, and I suggest you do, use my discount affiliate code DEENASHRDR for 15% off. Yes, I get a small commission. Guess what I do with it? I buy more clothing. Insect Shield also runs sales quite often which I take advantage of.

If you think permethrin-bonded clothing is too expensive, you can also send your clothes in to be treated. Once I reach a stable weight, I will do this. In the meantime, I have one pair of khakis, one pair of leggings, and one pair of knit pants. I have five pairs of socks, both hiking and short socks, and two T-shirts. I need a couple more shirts and a hoodie for fall and winter. I tuck my shirts into my pants, and my pants into my socks, and then into my boots from Tractor Supply similar to these.

I use double-sided tape at the top of my boots or midway up my pants to trap the little creeps. I then use a lint roller to ensure I have no hitchhikers on me before I come inside. Here’s an Instagram video where I detailed my clothing.

As to the expense, I went to the hospital four times in a month and a half this spring before I got on a medication regimen. My co-pay for each hospital visit due to anaphylaxis was over $300. Plus, I lost time to work.

In my opinion, the permethrin-bonded clothes are a great investment. I didn’t wear them the other day and only planted two heucheras in the shade garden, and two Lonestar nymphs bit me. I won’t make that mistake again.

DEET isn’t the answer.

I wish it were that simple. No, DEET alone won’t protect you enough from Lonestar ticks. I wish it did. They are tougher and more aggressive than the normal dog tick and are almost impervious to DEET unless it is frequently reapplied. Even then, studies show that some ticks will escape and continue crawling up your body. Since one bite can give you AGS or other tickborne diseases, I would not trust DEET.

You can use DEET as part of your tick-control strategy along with permethrin clothing and double-sided tape. Here’s more information on Lonestar ticks. Yes, they are becoming more common throughout the central and eastern U.S.

How has Alpha-gal changed my gardening practices?

Until I was diagnosed in October 2023, I was an organic gardener through and through, and not much changed at first. My borders and potager (kitchen garden) were finished. I was no longer fertilizing roses for the year, and I wasn’t potting up plants. I could have taken cuttings, but I didn’t have the time, and honestly, I didn’t feel very well. To learn more about that, I wrote about my symptoms and being diagnosed with Alpha-gal syndrome last December.

Fast forward to spring 2024, and it’s a whole different ballgame. Many people with Alph-gal syndrome have fume aka airborne reactions to cooking meats and heated dairy (cream and butter for example) and other mammal products.

Organic gardening products often have manure, bone meal, blood meal, and other mammal products as fertilizer.

My favorite potting soil is Ocean Forest made by FoxFarm Products, but it contains bat guano. What are bats? Itty-bitty mammals.

In February, when I went into the greenhouse to sow some seeds, I felt like I was going to faint on several different occasions.

Finally, I connected my reactions to my potting soil. I have since switched to Black Gold All-Purpose potting soil. I found it locally at TaraCotta Garden Outlet in Guthrie, OK. The last time I checked TLC Nursery’s brand of potting mix also doesn’t contain mammal ingredients.

So far, I haven’t reacted to these two potting soils, but you should read every label every time because ingredients change. This doesn’t matter whether we are discussing gardening with Alpha-gal syndrome, or other products like lotions, makeup, food, medications, etc.

I am not bugged by other insects and wildlife so I still take a less is more approach.

Soil amendments to use when gardening with Alpha-gal syndrome.

Many soil amendments also contain mammal ingredients. Choose soil amendments that won’t make your body react. I still like Back to Nature’s cotton burr compost. It doesn’t have any manure or other mammal ingredients. I called their offices to make sure. Of course, you can make your compost, but, for many years, I couldn’t make enough for my large garden.

As for mulch, I use arborists’ chips because they are the entire tree shredded. I have found that this mulch performs better than any other I have used. If you want bagged mulch, buy Hapi-Gro Landscapers Mix from Lowe’s or TLC Nursery. It says garden soil on the bag, but it’s not soil. It’s shredded pine trees, and it makes excellent mulch.

Fertilizers for gardeners with Alpha-gal syndrome.

Because of my Alpha-gal diagnosis, unfortunately, I’ve had to change over to chemical fertilizers. I hate this, but I only use fertilizer on my roses. In the rest of my garden, I use the amendments listed above with my original native soil or manure mix I bought 30+ years ago. I’ve also used shredded leaves in the past as mulch.

That’s it. I don’t use any other fertilizers, and I’ve started growing quite a few of my roses in pots so that I don’t spread more chemicals into my soil. They are also portable this way.

You can also use composted chicken manure and worm castings as organic nitrogen fertilizers. Alfalfa pellets are also frequently used. Milorganite is made from Milwaukee sewage, but I haven’t checked to see if there are further problematic ingredients.

If you live in an area that has waste products from seafood like shrimp shells, fish emulsion, or fish meal readily available, these are also good options.

It’s a very personal choice, and I understand why people do what they do. We all want beautiful gardens that don’t hurt wildlife, but we need to care for ourselves too.

Will I continue gardening with Alpha-gal syndrome?

For me, gardening is equated with breathing so yes, I will continue gardening with Alpha-gal syndrome. I will change what I must to do so.

Happy spring everyone. It’s been a good year thus far.