'Gardens in a can' A concern for Quarantine

Gardens in a can may sound like a great novelty gift, but the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) warns that they could carry weed seeds, plant diseases or insect pests into Australia.

Quarantine officers at airports and mail centres have been seizing the seed raising kits — which are packed in containers that look like soft drink cans or tins of soup — because they are a threat to Australia’s environment and agriculture industries.

The kits come complete with seeds, potting mix and instructions on how to grow your own garden. While this sounds fun, the potential consequences of bringing these kits into Australia are serious.

“Seeds, soil and plant material could introduce exotic pests and diseases into Australia,” says AQIS’s Carson Creagh.

“The seeds of the sunflowers, tomatoes, impatiens, mimosa, ‘magic beans’ and other plant varieties in these kits could introduce disease such as sunflower downy mildew, potato spindle tuber virus or weeds such as varieties of mimosa weed that could overtake our native environment. The soil in the cans could also introduce insect or snail eggs.”

AQIS is serious about keeping pests and diseases out of Australia. Passengers’ luggage and international mail items are screened by Quarantine — anything that could pose a quarantine risk is removed and treated or destroyed. Serious breaches of quarantine can mean a fine of more than $60,000 and a criminal record.

“We encourage everyone who travels overseas or wants to send food, plant or animal products to Australia to find out what can and can’t come into the country,” says Mr Creagh

For more information:

visit www.aqis.gov.au/japanese or www.aqis.gov.au/korean

• contact the AQIS office in your State or ask your travel agent for a free copy of the Quarantine brochure What Can’t I Take Into Australia? in Japanese/Korean
• call AQIS on 1800 020 504